Niantic people facts for kids
The Niantic people were a group of Algonquian-speaking Native Americans. They lived in what is now Connecticut and Rhode Island a long time ago, when European settlers first arrived. The Niantic people were split into two main groups: the Western Niantics and the Eastern Niantics. This happened because of the powerful Pequot tribe.
The Western Niantics lived near the Connecticut River and were connected to the Pequots. The Eastern Niantics were close friends with the Narragansett tribe. The word "Nantucket" might even come from the Niantic's own name for themselves, "Nehantucket." The two Niantic groups spoke different forms of the Algonquian language. The Eastern Niantics spoke a language similar to Narragansett, while the Western Niantics spoke a language like Mohegan-Pequot.
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Niantic History and Culture
The Niantic people spoke a language similar to their neighbors, like the Pequots and Narragansetts. Their name, "Nehantic," means "of long-necked waters." Many people think this refers to a piece of land called Black Point in Niantic, Connecticut, which looks like a long neck.
The Niantics were skilled at living off the land. In the summer, they fished and gathered shellfish, which were plentiful in their area. They also grew corn, beans, and squash. They hunted animals and collected nuts, roots, and fruits to eat.
Life Before European Settlers (Before 1600s)
Before Europeans arrived, the Niantic people, like the Narragansetts, lived near coastal salt ponds in what is now Rhode Island. They lived in small, spread-out villages. They used animals like snakes and turtles as part of their daily life.
The Niantic community valued both personal freedom and working together as a group. Each family was responsible for taking care of themselves. We know about their culture from things they left behind, like crafted shell items. These items show that people from southern Connecticut to Martha's Vineyard shared similar ways of life. The arrival of the Mohegan and Pequot tribes in southeastern Connecticut caused the Niantic people to split into the Western and Eastern groups.
Meeting European Settlers (1600s)
By 1636, when European settlers came to southern Rhode Island, the Niantic and Narragansett peoples were very close. They shared social customs and family ties. The Eastern Niantic group, led by a chief named Ninigret, lived mostly in areas that are now Westerly, Rhode Island and Charlestown, Rhode Island.
Conflicts began between the Niantics and the European colonists. The English colonists sometimes sent soldiers to fight the Niantics, causing a lot of damage. This fighting grew worse and led to the Pequot War in 1637. This war almost completely destroyed the Western Niantics. The roughly 100 Western Niantic survivors joined the Mohegan tribe.
Some members of the Mohegan tribe today can trace their family history back to the Niantics, especially near Lyme, Connecticut. After another big conflict called King Philip's War (1675–1676), the Narragansett population greatly decreased. However, the Eastern Niantics were mostly safe because Chief Ninigret stayed neutral during that war. Many surviving Narragansetts joined the Eastern Niantics. Because so many Narragansetts joined, the combined tribe became known as the Narragansetts. Even so, Eastern Niantic leaders continued to guide the joined tribes. Ninigret's daughter, Weunquest, became a leader around 1679.
Changes in the 1700s
At the start of the 1700s, the Eastern Niantic-Narragansett community in Rhode Island was one of the largest Native American groups in Southern New England. There were more Eastern Niantics than Narragansetts. After Weunquest, her half-brother Ninigret II became the leader. Under his leadership, the Niantic-Narragansetts received their own reservation land in 1709. By the time he died in 1723, the Eastern Niantics were fully known as Narragansetts. Problems like disagreements within the tribe and pressure from European settlers caused the tribe's population to shrink.
Christian missionaries began trying to convert the Eastern Niantics in 1713, but many resisted. More organized efforts started in the 1720s, but they mostly succeeded with Niantics who worked as servants or slaves for European families. More Niantics became interested in Christianity around 1743, and separate churches formed for each group.
In 1733, Western Niantics traveled from East Lyme, Connecticut, to Woodstock, Connecticut. They went to trade animal skins and furs for things like powder, knives, cloth, and beads with local shopkeepers.
In 1761, a man named Ezra Stiles met a Western Niantic community of 85 people, including many children, in the village of Niantic. He drew pictures of their homes, called wigwams, and noticed they were similar to those used by the Kickapoo tribe. He also reported that 11 Niantic men had died fighting with colonial troops between 1755 and 1761.
By the end of the 1700s, the Niantic people had adopted many parts of the Yankee New England culture. This included their religious beliefs, clothing styles, and social classes. In 1780, people in New Shoreham, Rhode Island, voted to take Eastern Niantic-Narragansett land. They claimed that the "native Indians [are] extinct in [this] Town."
From the 1800s to Today
After the American Revolution, many Eastern Niantic families moved west. They joined the Brotherton Indians in New York and later in Wisconsin. Those who stayed were often seen by leaders as different from white communities but also not fully recognized as Indigenous. This led to Niantics being listed as "Black" or "Negro" in Rhode Island records. This re-classification made it hard for them to keep their claims to their ancestral lands.
By 1870, the state of Connecticut declared the Western Niantics extinct. The state then sold their 300-acre reservation land on the Black Point peninsula. In 1886, their burial ground was also sold and disrespected.
In 1880, the Eastern Niantic-Narragansett reservation was sold to the state of Rhode Island. Only their church remained under their control.
In the early 1900s, Mohegan people in southeastern Connecticut looked to Western Niantic elders for guidance. They sought knowledge about sacred traditions, medicine, symbols, and tribal history.
In the 1930s, Niantics attended a gathering at Mashapaug Pond in Providence, Rhode Island. Other tribes like the Narragansetts, Nipmucks, Wampanoags, and Passamaquoddys were also there.
In 1998, about 35 families in Connecticut who say they are descended from the Niantic people formed a non-profit group called the Nehantic Tribe and Nation. They created a governing board, researched their history, and began the process of asking the United States government to officially recognize them as an Indian tribe.
