Awashonks

Awashonks[a] (fl. mid-late 17th c.) was a saunkskwa, a female sachem (chief) of the Sakonnet (also spelled Saconet) tribe in Rhode Island. She lived near the southern edge of the Plymouth Colony on Patuxet homelands, not far from Narragansett Bay,[1] near what is currently known by settlers as Little Compton, Rhode Island.[2] In the mid-seventeenth century, English settlers of Plymouth Colony invaded her lands.[2] While she had allied herself to the English to increase her power, English colonization eroded her standing among both the English and the Sakonnet.[2] Awashonks is known for her special talent for negotiation and diplomacy, which helped include the Sakonnets among Native communities who received amnesty from colonists.[3]


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  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference SecondToNone was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b c Sonneborn, Liz (2007). A to Z of American Indian women (Rev. ed.). New York: Facts On File. p. 11. ISBN 9780816066940.
  3. ^ León, Vicki (2001). Uppity women of the New World. Berkeley, Calif.: Conari Press. p. 140. ISBN 1573241873.