Praying Indians of Natick facts for kids
The Praying Indians of Natick were a group of Native Americans who became Christians. They lived in the town of Natick, Massachusetts. Natick was one of many special communities called Praying Towns. These communities were also known as Natick Indians.
Natick was started by John Eliot (1604–1690). He was an English Puritan missionary who came to Massachusetts. Eliot learned the Massachusett language, which was spoken by many local tribes. He preached to them in their language and even translated the Bible into it.
The Natick community was located in southern Middlesex County, Massachusetts. This area was part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony back then. The name "Natick" usually means "A Place of Hills." Eliot and the Praying Indians first settled this planned community in 1651.
Contents
Who Were the Natick Praying Indians?
After King Philip's War (1675–1678), Native American groups were often named after where they lived. The Natick community mainly included Massachusett people. But it also had members from other nearby tribes. Together, they were all called Natick Indians.
The Bible in Massachusett
John Eliot worked hard to translate the Bible. First, he translated the New Testament into the Massachusett language. This was published in 1661. Later, the entire Bible was published in Massachusett in 1685.
What Were Praying Towns?
British Puritans created Praying Towns in New England between 1646 and 1675. These towns were meant to be safe places for Christian Native Americans. Many Native communities had suffered greatly from diseases, wars, and settlers taking their land.
Life in Natick
The Praying Towns helped the Puritans achieve several goals. They made it easier to teach Christianity and English customs. It also helped distribute Eliot's Massachusett-language Bibles. People in the towns had to follow strict rules. These rules forbid some Native cultural practices. They also encouraged English modesty and hairstyles.
For the colonial government, these towns helped bring Native Americans under their control. The Praying Towns were like independent English towns. Native leaders still had some power. They became administrators, teachers, and tax collectors. This helped them keep their important roles.
Life in the Praying Towns was a mix of English and Native customs. Native Americans were encouraged to learn English skills like woodworking and farming. Eliot even arranged for them to train with Englishmen. Natick had its own church, but services were in Massachusett. Native preachers led the services, and people were called to church by Native drumming. The Praying Indians kept many parts of their culture, like hunting and traditional food. But they blended them with English culture and Christianity.
Land Disputes and Unfair Laws
The peace between English settlers and Native peoples was often difficult. The Praying Indians tried to use the English court system to protect their land. With Eliot's help, they sometimes won against settlers who claimed their land. However, Native Americans often lost these cases. Some Native leaders even sold land they didn't own to gain favor with the English.
The Massachusetts Bay Colony also passed harsh laws against Native Americans. All Native people, Christian or not, had to follow the Christian Sabbath. They were not allowed to hunt, fish, or farm on this day. They also couldn't enter English towns. Heavy fines were given for practicing traditional spiritual ways. Alcohol and firearms were banned. These laws made it hard for Native Americans to trade and earn a living. New laws also allowed settlers to claim any "unimproved" land. This threatened areas used for hunting and farming.
King Philip's War
King Philip's War (1675–1676) was a terrible time for both Native Americans and English colonists. There was much fighting and destruction.
The Massachusett people, who were all Praying Indians living in these towns, tried to stay neutral. But they suffered greatly. English neighbors, filled with fear, attacked and harassed them. Metacomet's forces also raided the Praying Towns for supplies. They sometimes forced Praying Indians to join them. To calm the English, the Praying Indians agreed to stay in their towns, follow curfews, and give up their weapons.
After the War (1676–1776)
Rebuilding and Challenges
King Philip's War changed Native American life in New England forever. Praying Indian survivors gathered at Natick. They tried to return to their lands. By 1681, they were allowed to go home. But they still faced harassment, attacks, and abuse of their land by English neighbors.
Many Native communities shrank due to disease, people moving away, and land loss. Natick became a home for many people from surrounding tribes. For example, many Nipmuc and Pawtucket people moved to Natick after their lands were sold. Wonalancet, a Pennacook leader, also joined his nephew in Natick.
The Native Americans' independence slowly disappeared as their lands were taken. Natick managed to keep its local Native leadership for a while. Native leaders held important roles in the community and the Indian church. Daily life was still in the Massachusett language. But this changed around 1721. Records began to be kept in English. An English-speaking minister, Oliver Peabody, took over the Indian church. He encouraged Native Americans to sell their land. By the 1750s, Natick was no longer mainly a Native American town. English interests controlled its government and church.
Guardians for Native Americans
In 1743, the colony appointed a commissioner, or "guardian," to oversee the Natick people. At first, this guardian was supposed to manage timber resources on Native lands. But soon, the guardian controlled land sales and any money from Native products. Guardians often abused their power. Many questionable land sales and cases of stolen money were recorded. This system made Native Americans like "wards" of the colony. They could no longer go to court on their own or vote in town elections.
Land was the only valuable thing Native Americans had. Guardians often sold it to pay for medical care, orphans, or debts. But Native Americans were also victims of unfair credit schemes that forced them to lose their land.
Wars and Service
Native American men from communities like Natick fought alongside English colonists in many wars. These included King William's War (1689–1699) and the French and Indian War (1754–1760). Many served with bravery as guides and scouts.
Many Native Americans also died fighting in the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783). Joseph Paugenitt and Jonas Obscow from Natick were some of these veterans. A memorial to the Natick Indian veterans of the American Revolutionary War stands in South Natick.
By 1848, a report to the Massachusetts state senate said that the Natick Indians, once a successful experiment, were "practically extinct."
After American Independence
The 19th Century
When Massachusetts became a state in the new United States, things did not get better for Native Americans. Most of the old colonial laws about Native Americans stayed the same. The guardian system continued, and Native Americans remained "wards" of the state.
Marriages Between Groups
Marriages between Native Americans and people from other groups increased in the 1800s. Many Native American men were lost to wars or worked far away, like on whaling ships. This meant there were more Native women than men. Many Native women married Black men. Their children were born free and were welcomed into the Native community. This was because many Native cultures passed down family status through the mother. Some Native women also married White men, even though there were laws against it.
Decline of the Natick Community
Most of the lands meant for Native peoples "forever" were sold to non-Natives. This left only small areas of Native land mixed in with English properties. The Natick people were able to hold onto their shared lands longer than some others. But most of their common lands were sold by 1750. The very last of Natick's common lands were sold after 1821. These sales often happened to pay for medical costs for the elderly and sick.
Even when Native Americans lost their land, the guardian system continued. As wards of the government, Native Americans could not vote or go to court on their own. Some received money from land sales, but guardians often controlled these funds. The guardians no longer had to keep track of who was Native American, especially as more people married outside their tribes.
The end of the Praying Towns did not mean Native Americans disappeared from the area. While some Natick people stayed as private landowners, many moved west. They sought spouses and a chance to find land with other tribes, like the Chaubunagungamaug.
Official Reports on Native Americans
The state of Massachusetts ordered reports on the condition of Native Americans. These reports were mainly to track expenses and check on the guardians. The most detailed report was by John Milton Earle, published in 1861.
Earle wrote that the Natick Tribe was "nearest extinct." He said only two families remained, totaling twelve people. He noted that the tribe had no common lands left. Earle suggested that their remaining money should be divided among these two families. He also observed that some Natick descendants had joined the Nipmuc people.
Today, several groups claim to be descendants of the Praying Indians of Natick. However, they are not recognized as Native American tribes by the U.S. federal or Massachusetts state governments.
Images for kids
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A historical marker for the former Praying town of Ponkapoag.
