Pequots

For other uses, see Pequot (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with Peugeot.
Pequots
Pequot Museum Exhibit showing Mashantucket Pequot warrior
Total population
1620: 16,000 (est.)[1]

1637: 3,000 (est.)
1910: 66
1972: 21

2000: 1,000–2,000 (est.)
Regions with significant populations
Eastern Pequot Tribal Nation, Lantern Hill, North Stonington, Connecticut: 1,130
Mashantucket Pequot Tribe or Western Pequot, Ledyard, Connecticut: 350
Languages
Historically Pequot, a dialect of the Mohegan-Pequot language (an Algonquian language), now English
Religion
Native American religion, Christianity
Related ethnic groups
Mohegan/Mohigan

The Pequot (/ˈpiːkwɒt/)[2] are a Native American people of Connecticut. The modern Pequot are members of the federally recognized Mashantucket Pequot Tribe, four other state-recognized groups in Connecticut including the Eastern Pequot Tribal Nation, or the Brothertown Indians of Wisconsin.[3] They historically spoke Pequot, a dialect of the Mohegan-Pequot language, which became extinct by the early 20th century. Some tribal members are undertaking revival efforts.

The Pequot and the Mohegan were formerly a single group, but the Mohegan split off in the 17th century as the Pequot came to control much of Connecticut. Simmering tensions with the New England Colonies led to the Pequot War of 1634–1638, which some historians consider to be a genocide under modern day terms,[4] which dramatically reduced the population and influence of the Pequot; many members were killed, enslaved, or dispersed. Small numbers of Pequots remain in Connecticut, receiving reservations at Mashantucket in 1666 and at the Pawcatuck River in 1683; others lived in different areas and with other tribes. In the 18th century, some Christian Pequot joined members of several other groups to form the Brothertown Indians in western New Hampshire. They relocated to western New York in the 19th century, where they were allowed land by the Oneida people of the Iroquois League, and later to Wisconsin, where they were granted a reservation.[5]

The Mashantucket Pequot Tribe received federal recognition in 1983 through a settlement of a land claim. In 1986, they founded the Foxwoods Resort Casino on their land. Located in proximity to the New York City metropolitan area, it has become one of the country's most successful Native American casinos.[6]

The Pawcatuck River Pequot formed the Eastern Pequot Tribal Nation, which is recognized by Connecticut but is not federally recognized. Additionally, Pequot descendants are enrolled in the federally recognized Mohegan Tribe, as well as the Schaghticoke Tribal Nation and Golden Hill Paugussett Indian Nation of Connecticut, and the Brothertown Indians of Wisconsin, which also have degrees of state recognition.[3] The Poospatuck Reservation on Long Island is home to a few hundred self-identified Pequot descendants.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference snow was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Salwen, Bert (1978). "Indians of Southern New England and Long Island: Early Period." In Northeast, ed. Bruce G. Trigger. Vol. 15 of Handbook of North American Indians, ed. William C. Sturtevant. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, pg. 175
  3. ^ a b Pritzker, Barry (2000) A Native American Encyclopedia: History, Culture, and Peoples, pp. 656–657. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-513897-X.
  4. ^ Madley, Benjamin (2023), Kiernan, Ben; Madley, Benjamin; Blackhawk, Ned; Taylor, Rebe (eds.), "'Too Furious': The Genocide of Connecticut's Pequot Indians, 1636–1640", The Cambridge World History of Genocide: Volume 2: Genocide in the Indigenous, Early Modern and Imperial Worlds, from c.1535 to World War One, The Cambridge World History of Genocide, vol. 2, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 215–242, ISBN 978-1-108-48643-9, retrieved May 28, 2024
  5. ^ Pritzker, Barry (2000) A Native American Encyclopedia: History, Culture, and Peoples, pp. 654–655, 656. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-513897-X.
  6. ^ Jeff Benedict, Without Reservation: The Making of America's Most Powerful Indian Tribe and Foxwoods the World's Largest Casino], New York: Harper, 2000, ISBN 978-0060193676