 Territories of Nauset and neighboring tribes | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| Extinct as a tribe | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 United States ( Massachusetts) | |
| Languages | |
| an Eastern Algonquian language | |
| Religion | |
| Indigenous religion | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Other Algonquian peoples |
The Nauset people, sometimes referred to as the Cape Cod Indians, were a Native American tribe who lived in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. They lived east of Bass River and lands occupied by their closely related neighbors, the Wampanoag.
Although the Nauset were a distinct tribe from the Wampanoag, they often deferred to the authority of the Wampanoag chief sachem, and shared with the Wampanoag many similar aspects of culture, agricultural practices, and a common tongue, the Massachusett language.
The tribe was one of the first to be visited by European explorers and colonists, who abducted some tribal members to sell into slavery in Spain and introduced diseases which reduced the Nauset population even before colonization of New England began on a large scale.