 The Nashua River in Groton, Massachusetts. The tribe took its name from this tributary of the Merrimack River | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| extinct as a tribe | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| southern New Hampshire, northern Massachusetts[1] | |
| Languages | |
| unattested Eastern Algonquian language | |
| Religion | |
| Indigenous | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Powhatan Confederacy |
The Nashaway (or Nashua or Weshacum) were a tribe of Algonquian Indians inhabiting the upstream portions of the Nashua River valley in what is now the northern half of Worcester County, Massachusetts, mainly in the vicinity of Sterling, Lancaster and other towns near Mount Wachusett, as well as southern New Hampshire.[1] The meaning of Nashaway is "between," an adverbial form derived from "nashau" meaning "someone is between/in the middle" = adverbial suffix "we" [2] Gustafson, Holly (2000), "A Grammar of the Nipmuc Language," University of Manitoba.</ref>