Quinnipiac facts for kids

The Quinnipiac people, also known as the Eansketambawg, are a Native American group. Their name, Eansketambawg, means "original people." They belong to the Algonquian family and spoke the Quiripi language. Historically, they lived in the "Dawnland" region, which includes what is now Connecticut.

Who Are the Quinnipiac People?

The Quinnipiac people are also known as Quiripi or Renapi. They spoke a special "r-dialect" of the Algonquian language family. This language group was the largest in North America, covering about one-third of the continent north of Mexico.

The Quinnipiac people were among the first indigenous groups to be placed on a reservation. This happened in 1638 by the English. Several treaties followed, leading to more reservations in places like Branford, Madison, Derby, and Farmington.

Early research showed that the Quinnipiac people lived in what is now Connecticut. More recent studies, using language and old records, show their lands were much larger. Around 1500-1600 AD, their confederacies included all of Connecticut, eastern New York, northern New Jersey, and half of Long Island. This was before the Pequot and Mohegan peoples moved into eastern Connecticut.

The Quinnipiac River: A Special Place

Quinnipiac and their neighbors

The Quinnipiac River flows south through Connecticut. It starts in Farmington and ends at the New Haven harbor on Long Island Sound. The river is about 38 miles (61 km) long. Its name means "long-water-country."

The Quinnipiac people had many villages and trails along this river. The Quinnipiac River and a hiking trail still go through Sleeping Giant State Park. This park is a sacred place for the Quinnipiac. They believe it is the body of their culture hero, the Stone Giant Hobbomock.

What Did the Quinnipiac Call Themselves?

The Dutch and French called these people Quiripi. The English called them Quinnipiac. The people themselves used several names:

• Eansketambawg: This means "Original People." It was a general term used by many Algonquian groups in the Northeast.
• Rennawawk: This means "[True] Men." It was their own term for Native Americans.
• Quiripi/Quiripey: This means "long-water[-land people]." It is an older version of Quinnipiac.
• Renapi: This means "Real People." This was the true name for the groups who spoke the r-dialect.
• Wampano: This means "Easterner." It referred to the Renapi/Lenape groups of the Dawnland Confederacy.

The name "Quinnipiac" comes from words like Quinni/pe/okke, meaning "long-water-land." This refers to the entire shoreline along Long Island Sound. Quinnipiac groups lived in Eastern New York, Northern New Jersey, and Connecticut. Their summer camps were often by the shores and rivers that flowed into the Sound.

Long ago, after the glaciers melted, there was a huge freshwater lake. Legend says this was the "Long-Water-Land." Old camp sites can still be found in the region.

How Were Quinnipiac Communities Organized?

The Quinnipiac people had a special way of organizing their communities.

Main Leaders and Councils

They had a main leader called a Long-House Grand Sachem. This position was passed down through families. The Grand Sachem led an alliance of other leaders:

• Stump-Chief Sachems: These leaders were chosen, not born into their roles.
• Sagamores/Sagamaughs: These leaders had hereditary positions.

All these leaders served as wise advisors. The main meeting place, called a maweomi (central council fire), was always in the heart of their territory. Their lands were protected by forts called menehkenum.

Smaller Groups and Alliances

Smaller groups, called sub-sachemships or bands, were connected to the main council fire. These groups shared family ties, culture, and language. The central council fires were also allied with a larger group called a Confederacy.

What Did They Trade?

The main thing the Quinnipiac people traded was wampum-peague, or "shell-money." This shell money had sacred meanings. Large piles of clam and oyster shells were used to make it. Archaeologists once thought these were just "refuse dumps." But they were actually places where shells were processed.

There were two types of wampum:

• Sun wampum were red, white, and purple beads. They were shaped like cylinders and had a hole through the middle. These beads were used to make strings of wampum and belts. The colors in the belts told symbolic stories. They were given to honor important events like peace treaties or marriages. In the early English colonies, wampum-peague became the first legal money.
• Moon wampum were larger, round beads. They were strung together to make necklaces. Big crescent-moon shaped wampums were worn to show membership in certain councils.

Another important trade item was raw copper. It was mined from West Rock (Mautumpseck). Large pieces of copper can still be seen at the Peabody Museum of Natural History in New Haven, Connecticut. This copper was sent to trade centers. There, artists made it into beads, amulets, knives, and axes.

Quinnipiac Sachemships (Around 1500-1650 AD)

The Long Water Land Renapi (Quinnipiac) had many different sachemships. These included:

• Quinnipiac/Quirripeokke: New Haven
• Meriden: Cheshire, North Haven, Meriden
• Mioonkhtuck: East Haven, Fair Haven
• Totoket: Branford, North Branford
• Menunkatuck: Guilford, Madison
• Hammonasset: Clinton, Saybrook
• Nehantic: Durham, Haddam
• Tunxis: Farmington
• Mattatuck: Waterbury
• Naugatuck: Derby, Ansonia, Orange
• Wepawaug: Milford
• Paugusset: New London
• Potatuck: Housatonic River
• Wangunk: Mattabesec or Middletown
• Podunk: Windsor

Indian forts, called menuhkenumoag, were located along their main trail system, the Mishimayagat. These trails and rivers were like highways for trade and war.

How Many Quinnipiac People Were There?

Population Before Europeans Arrived

Before major epidemics hit, it's thought that about 25,000 Quinnipiac people lived in Connecticut. Another 25,000 lived in Eastern New York and New Jersey. This means there were roughly 1,000 to 1,200 people in each band or sub-sachemship.

The First Reservations

The Quinnipiac reservation at Mioonhktuck (East Haven) is believed to be the first reservation in what would become the United States. This happened after the first treaty between the Quinnipiac and the English in November 1638. More reserved lands were set aside later.

There were three main treaties with the British Crown. These treaties were later confirmed by the U.S. Constitution. Reserved lands included:

• 1,200 acres (4.9 km2) at Mioonkhtuck, East Haven.
• Lands at Indian Head, Totoket, Branford.
• Lands at Ruttawoo (East River), Madison.
• Lands at Menunkatuck, Guilford, West Pond.
• Lands at Derby, Orange, Turkey Hill.
• 50 acres (200,000 m2) at Waterbury (planned but not finalized).

Quinnipiac People Moving Away

Many Quinnipiac people became refugees because of European settlement and efforts to make them live like Europeans. This period is sometimes called the "Quinnipiac Trail of Heartaches."

Large groups moved to live with other Algonquian groups. Some went to the Schaghticoke area starting in 1699. Other groups moved to Brotherton in Oneida, New York, then to the White River and Muncie, Indiana. Some went to Stockbridge, Massachusetts, and Stockbridge, Wisconsin. Others moved to Odenak (St. Francis) and Quebec, Canada.

Some also moved to Pennsylvania, eastern New York, and northern New Jersey. They lived in places like the Ramapo Mountain refugium, moving from rock shelter to rock shelter to survive. From the 1850s to 1900, some Quinnipiac began to return to their original Long Water Land.

Quinnipiac: People of Peace and War

The Quinnipiac people were known as "grandfathers" in the Dawnland Confederacy, along with their Lenape cousins. They were generally peaceful and focused on trade. However, when they had to fight, they were fierce warriors.

Eastern Connecticut suffered many losses due to epidemics. So, around 1506, after 80% of the population died, the Pequot people moved into the area. They pushed the remaining Narragansett people into what is now Rhode Island.

A leader named Uncas, who was angry about not leading the Pequot, started his own group, the Mohegan Band. Uncas and his warriors joined with Nepaupuck, a Quinnipiac War Captain. They made treaties with the English. In the "Direful Swamp Fight" in December 1675, 150 Quinnipiac and Mohegan warriors joined 350 English troops. They defeated the powerful Pequot.

Quinnipiac warriors fought in many wars as soldiers and sailors. Later, some who had moved to Stockbridge joined forces to help the Sons of Liberty fight the English in the American Revolution. This was because the English had broken land agreements. The Sons of Liberty later changed their name to the Sons of King Tammany, honoring a Munsee Grand Sachem. The original thirteen colonies even adopted some of the Quinnipiac Wampano Confederacy's political structure. Each state had its own symbol and called its leader a sachem.

Quinnipiac Daily Life and Culture

The Long Water Land people lived in fishing camps along the shores during spring (Sequan) and summer (Nepun). They grew crops like corn, beans, squash, pumpkins, fruits, nuts, and berries. They used a slash-and-burn method to keep the soil rich and regularly moved their planting sites. They used horseshoe crabs and menhadden (a type of fish) as natural fertilizer. They caught shell- and scalefish and dried them.

The Quinnipiac were skilled falconers. They used hawks to keep crows away from their corn. They planted beans and squash between rows of corn. The beans would grow around the corn stalks, which meant less weeding was needed. They also used many other plants, which we now call weeds, for food, drinks, medicine, and making mats.

In the fall (Taquonck), the Quinnipiac moved inland along their trails to their winter (Pabouks) grounds. Along the way, they hunted fowl, rabbits, beaver, and other small animals. They would reach Meriden, "the Pleasant Valley," where oak trees offered shelter. Acorns from the oaks were a main food source for deer and wild turkey, which were important winter foods.

During the Colonial period, Quinnipiac men worked as laborers, fishermen, and guides. Quinnipiac women sold their crafts.

The Quinnipiac and other Algonquian people lived in wigwams and quinnekommuk (longhouses). Wigwams were oval-shaped houses with frames made of young trees, covered with bark, mats, skins, or sod. Longhouses were rectangular, two or three times longer than they were wide, and covered similarly. Quinnipiac longhouses were typically 30 to 100 feet long, 20 feet wide, and about 15 feet high. The largest houses belonged to sachems, often having five or six fire pits because their extended family lived with them. Religious groups also had large longhouses for ceremonies.

The Long Water Land people were known for their elm bark canoes, which were light and fast. They also used 20 to 40-foot-long dugout canoes for trade and war.

They kept track of time using a lunar calendar and an eight-part ceremonial cycle. They used natural features like rocks and earth formations as observatories to track the sun, moon, and stars. This helped them know when to plant, harvest, and hold ceremonies.

Important Quinnipiac Leaders

• Momauguin: He was the Quinnipiac Grand Sachem in 1638. He signed the first treaty with the English settlers in New Haven. This treaty allowed the English to use Quinnipiac land in New Haven. But it also kept 1,200 acres (4.9 km2) as a reservation for his people. It also kept their full rights to fish and hunt on all their land.
• Mantowese: He was the sachem of Mattabesec (Middletown). He signed the second treaty with the English, allowing them to use land in his area. Mantowese was Momauguin's nephew and part of his Grand Council.
• Shampishuh: She was Momauguin's sister and a female sachem (sunksquaw) of the Menunkatuck (Guilford) area. She signed the third treaty with the English. This treaty granted land near Madison and Guilford but reserved land east of the Kuttawoo River for her people. Her son, Naushop, later confirmed this treaty.
• Quosoquonch: He was the sachem of the Totoket area and Shampishuh's uncle. In 1639, he worked with Shampishuh to draw a map of the Quinnipiac sachemdoms for English leaders.
• Sarah Mahwee (Mahweeyeuh): She was born in East Haven. In 1699, she married Joseph Chuse. Together, they started the Schaghticoke community.
• Elizabeth Sakaskantawe Brown: Born around 1850, she lived to be over 100 years old. She lived on about 20 acres (81,000 m2) near Branford, Connecticut. Sakaskantawe (Flying Squirrel) was the last female elder of the Totoket Band. She was a descendant of James Mah-wee-yeuh, a Sachem of the Mioonkhtuk Band.

Language, Beliefs, and Stories

The Quinnipiac Language is called the PEA-A R-Dialect, or WAMPANO-QUIRIPEY. It was spoken across the Dawnland region around 1500 to 1600 AD. After Europeans arrived and epidemics caused changes, the language was spoken in western Connecticut, eastern New York, half of Long Island, and northern New Jersey.

Today, the Quinnipiac Tribal Council (QTC) Press has a language guide. They are teaching people to speak, write, and understand the old r-dialect again.

The Quinnipiac people had many traditional religious ceremonies. These were led by seven medicine societies. Old teachings and ancient writing systems are being preserved. The Quinnipiac people were known for strongly resisting efforts by the Puritans to change their culture.

The Puritans tried to force Quinnipiac people to give up their "Indian" ways. If they "converted," they had to stop practicing their religion, speaking their language, wearing their traditional clothes, and living in their traditional homes. Many converted just to survive or to stay in their homeland. Others pretended to convert or moved to missionary camps that offered better treatment. Still others moved to live with other Native American groups.

When Quinnipiac people moved to other tribes, they were not simply absorbed. They became part of the larger Dawnland Grand Council Fire Circles. This helped them keep their social and political traditions alive. This is how many Algonquian groups gained state recognition in the 1950s-1970s, after they had been wrongly declared "extinct."

Quinnipiac shamans, called powawaus, prayed and made offerings of tobacco to the spirits (mandooak) of animals. This was to ensure successful hunts. Warrior-shamans, called Pinessi, were dedicated to the Thunderer, who gave them special powers. Offerings were also made to the spirits of the sun, moon, stars, mountains, rivers, oceans, the Little People, and the Stone Giants, Hobbomock and Maushop.

The Quinnipiac Stone Giant Twins, Hobbomock and Maushop, were important culture heroes. They represented good and bad, right and wrong. The Puritans tried to change these stories. For example, Hobbomock was a kind spirit who taught the Quinnipiac how to hunt, fish, and survive. But the Puritans forced the Quinnipiac to teach their children that Hobbomock was a "Bogeyman" or a "devil."

Despite these challenges, the Quinnipiac people are still here today. As the New England Algonquian Alliance motto says, "WE ARE STILL HERE."

Quinnipiac Legacy in Connecticut

The Quinnipiac people have left a lasting mark on the names of places in Connecticut:

• Quinnipiac Dawnland Museum and Library
• Quinnipiac Hiking Trail
• Quinnipiac River
• Quinnipiac University
• Quinnipiac Watershed Wildlife Preserve
• "Quinnipiack" 90-foot (27 m) Schooner
• Beaver Pond and Beaver Hills
• Kuttomquosh (Thimble Islands)
• Mautumpseck (West Rock)
• Momauguin (Township, East Haven)
• Montowese Avenue
• Montowese Post Office
• Quinnehtukqut (Connecticut River)
• Sleeping Giant State Park
• Wappintumpseck (East Rock)
• Wampeag Island
• And hundreds of other place names for rivers, parks, and preserves.

Who Are the Quinnipiac Today?

The Algonquian Confederacy of the Quinnipiac Tribal Council (ACQTC) is the main group representing the Quinnipiac people today. They have three types of members:

• Full membership is for those whose family lines go back to specific historic Quinnipiac family names. This includes about 50 to 100 families.
• Confederate membership is for families who trace their ancestry to the groups who moved to other areas like New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Canada. This includes about 100 families.
• Honorary membership is for people who agree to help honor, protect, and bring back the Quinnipiac language, religion, and traditions. This includes about 25 to 50 families.