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Nipmuc Nation

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The Nipmuc Nation was a non profit entity of the state-recognized tribe Hassanamisco Nipmuc , an Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands based in South Grafton, Massachusetts .

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76-734: The Nipmuc Nation also used to work with the Chaubunagungamaug Nipmuck , of Worcester County, Massachusetts . Most of the group's more than 500 members live in and around the Chaubunagungamaug Reservation , Hassanamisco Reservation and the city of Worcester . Cheryll Toney Holley was elected as the chief of the Hassanamisco Nipmuc Band in 2013. In 2004, the Bureau of Indian Affairs determined that this group did not meet four of

152-549: A Westborough, Massachusetts , nursing home from Parkinson's disease at the age of 68. In January 2009 a Department of Youth Services facility located at 288 Lyman Street in the town of Westborough was formally named the Zara Cisco Brough "Princess White Flower" Facility through House Bill 3231 in 2009. Zara Cisco Brough, also spelled Ciscoe, was born on January 3, 1919, in New York City , New York. She

228-660: A Nipmuc individual egregiously designated as a "Miscellaneous Indian" on the Earle Report, eight percent descend from Connecticut Indians, and three percent have other Indian ancestry. Chaubunagungamaug Nipmuck The Nipmuc or Nipmuck people are an Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands , who historically spoke an Eastern Algonquian language , probably the Loup language . Their historic territory Nippenet, meaning 'the freshwater pond place',

304-879: A civilian consultant to the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. In recognition of her work the United States Air force awarded her the United States Air Force Award of Superior Performance. In 1959 she left New York to return home to take care of her ageing mother. After her arrival, Brough accepted the job of vice president of the former Ibis Corporation located in Waltham, Massachusetts, which specialized in electronic and environmental consultation. Having returned to her ancestral home, Brought sought involvement in activist and political organizations. In

380-584: A combination of romantic notions of who the Native Americans were and to justify the colonial expansion. Native Americans continued to exist but fewer and fewer were able to live on the dwindling reserve lands and most left to seek employment as domestics or servants in White households, out to sea as whalers or seafarers, or into the growing cities where they became labourers or barbers. Growing acculturation, intermarriage, and dwindling populations led to

456-551: A grammar of the language. It was well understood from Cape Ann to Connecticut . In addition, colonial authorities supported settlement of the Native Americans on 'Indian plantations' or Praying towns . There they instructed the Native Americans in European farming methods, culture, and language, administered by Indian preachers and councilors who were often descended from the elite native families. The Native Americans melded indigenous and European culture, but were mistrusted by both

532-459: A remembrance service for members of the tribe lost over the winter during their internment during King Philip's War and protest against the destruction of Indian gravesites. On April 22, 1980, Zara Cisco Brough , landowner of Hassanamessit, submitted a letter of intention to petition for federal recognition as a Native American tribe. On July 20, 1984, the BIA received the petition letter from

608-653: A steady trickle, and sometimes whole villages, that fled to increasingly mixed-tribe bands either northward to the Pennacook and Abenaki who were under the protection of the French or westward to join the Mahican at increasingly mixed settlements of Schagticoke or Stockbridge , the latter of which eventually migrated as far west as Wisconsin . This further dwindled Indian presence in New England , although not all

684-534: A substantially continuous basis since 1900. For the period from 1900 to 1979, there were no external identifications of a Nipmuck entity broader than some of the Hassanamisco proprietary descendants. The Nipmuc Nation group does not meet the Federal criterion which requires that a predominant portion of the petitioning group comprise a distinct community from historical times until the present. From 1785 through

760-579: Is adjacent to 187 acres of Grafton owned land as well as 63 acres owned by the Grafton Land Trust. These properties will provide numerous recreational benefits to the public as well as play a role in protecting the water quality of local watersheds. In July 2013, the Hassanamisco band selected a chief, Cheryll Toney Holley to succeed Walter Vickers upon his resignation. Zara Cisco Brough Zara Cisco Brough (January 3, 1919 – January 7, 1988), also called Princess White Flower, served as

836-702: Is in central Massachusetts and nearby parts of Connecticut and Rhode Island . The Nipmuc Tribe had contact with traders and fishermen from Europe prior to the colonization of the Americas . The first recorded contact with Europeans was in 1630, when John Acquittamaug (Nipmuc) took maize to sell to the starving colonists of Boston, Massachusetts . After the colonists encroached on their land, negotiated fraudulent land sales and introduced legislation designed to encourage further European settlement, many Nipmucs joined Metacomet 's war against genocide, known as King Philip's War , in 1675, though they were unable to defeat

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912-461: The Abenaki referred to themselves as ȣmiskanȣakȣiak , meaning the 'beaver tail-hill people'. The Nipmuc most likely spoke Loup A , a Southern New England Algonquian language. The language is undergoing revival within the communities. There are several second-language speakers. Ohketeau is one local organization working on language revitalization. Daniel Gookin (1612–1687), Superintendent to

988-601: The Boy Scouts as well as the 1907 appearance of Buffalo Bill Cody with many Native Americans in feathered headdresses paying respects to Uncas, Sachem of the Mohegan . Despite nearly four centuries of assimilation , acculturation, and the destruction of economic and community support from enfranchisement in the region, certain Indian families were able to maintain a distinct Indian identity and cultural identity. The turn of

1064-601: The Chief of the Nipmuc Nation , a state-recognized tribe in Massachusetts , from 1962 until 1987. She is best known for her work to preserve Nipmuc heritage. During her lifetime she worked as an electronics engineer, fashion designer, drafter, technical writer, and supervisor of government projects. She held the post of "State commissioner for Indian Affairs" from 1974 to 1984. On January 7, 1988, Brough died at

1140-601: The Hassanamisco Nipmuc . The tribe is first mentioned in a 1631 letter by Deputy Governor Thomas Dudley as the Nipnet , 'people of the freshwater pond', due to their inland location. This derives from Nippenet and includes variants such as Neipnett , Neepnet , Nepmet , Nibenet , Nopnat and Nipneet . In 1637, Roger Williams recorded the tribe as the Neepmuck , which derives from Nipamaug , 'people of

1216-668: The Massachusetts Senate Joint Committee on Claims called for a report on the condition of several tribes that received aid from the Commonwealth. Three reports were listed: The 1848 'Denney Report' presented to the Senate the same year; the 1849 'Briggs Report', written by Commissioners F. W. Bird, Whiting Griswold and Cyrus Weekes and presented to Governor George N. Briggs ; and the 1859 'Earle Report', written by Commissioner John Milton Earle that

1292-588: The Native American peoples. This resulted in the Nipmuc being placed on "active consideration" for federal recognition by 11 July 1995. Although the tribe gained state recognition, they were denied federal recognition. In recognition of her efforts for the betterment of the community a Massachusetts Department of Youth Services Facility located at 288 Lyman Street in Westborough was formally named as

1368-576: The Praying towns were interned on Deer Island in Boston Harbor over the winter where a great many perished from starvation and exposure to the elements. Although many of the Native Americans fled to join the uprising, other Native Americans joined the colonists. The Praying Indians were particularly at risk, as the war made all Native Americans suspect, but the Praying towns were also attacked by

1444-475: The praying towns dissolved some tribal divisions, as members of different tribes settled together. Four groups that are associated with the Nipmuc peoples survive today. Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis issued Executive Order #126 in 1976, which proclaimed that 'State agencies shall deal directly with ... [the] Hassanamisco Nipmuc ... on matters affecting the Nipmuc Tribe', as well as calling for

1520-548: The "Final Determination to Decline Federal Acknowledgment of The Nipmuck Nation" (June 2004) and as such represents the views of the Department of the Interior and may differ from the views of Nipmuc Nation representatives. Note also that the following delineates the determinations which were unmet rather than those that were satisfied. The Hassanamisco Reservation was sold in 1727, except for 500 acres (2.0 km), which

1596-607: The 'Nipmuc Tribal Council Federal Recognition Committee', co-signed by Zara Cisco Brough and her successor, Walter A. Vickers, of the Hassanamisco, and Edwin 'Wise Owl' W. Morse, Sr. of the Chaubunagungamaug. In January 2001, a preliminary finding was made by the BIA in favor of the Nipmuc Nation of Sutton, Massachusetts, which had most of its membership in Massachusetts, while a negative preliminary finding

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1672-405: The 'wild' Native Americans that joined Metacomet's struggle. The Nipmuc were major participants in the siege of Lancaster , Brookfield , Sudbury and Bloody Brook, all in Massachusetts, and the tribe prepared thoroughly for conflict by forming alliances, and the group even had "an experienced gunsmith, a lame man, who kept their weapons in good working order." The siege of Lancaster also lead to

1748-582: The 1920s with Indian gatherings such as the Algonquin Indian Council of New England that met in Providence, Rhode Island and dances or powwows such as those at Hassanamessit in 1924. Plains Indian clothing was often worn as potent statements of Indian identity and to prove their continued residence in the area and because much of the original culture had been lost. Other Nipmuc individuals appeared at town pageants and fairs, including

1824-538: The 1938 appearance at the Sturbridge, Massachusetts bicentennial fair of many ancestors of today's Chaubunagungamaug Nipmuck. By the 1970s, the Nipmuc had made many strides. Many local members of the tribe were called upon to help with the development of the Native American exhibit at Old Sturbridge Village , a 19th-century living museum built in the heart of former Nipmuc territory. State recognition

1900-526: The 19th century, only a handful of pure-blood Native Americans remained, and Native Americans vanish from state and federal census records but are listed as 'Black', ' mulatto ', ' colored ' or 'miscellaneous' depending on their appearance. In 1902 it was reported that the Last of John Eliot Praying Indians was living in Massachusetts a Mrs Patience Fidelia Clifton age70 of Brigham's Hill , Grafton, Massachusetts formerly Indian community of Hassanamesitt In 1848,

1976-711: The Board of Trustees of the Riverside, Old and Indian Cemeteries, Grafton Taxpayers Association and the Grafton Player's Club. In addition to her involvement with numerous committees she chaired the board of directors of the Hassanamisco Reservation Foundation Trust, which works to promote and ensure preservation of Nipmuc tribal lands and heritage. In addition to her career as a consultant and position of leadership as Chief of

2052-525: The City of Boston during King Philip's War . The tribe also works closely with the state to undergo various archaeological excavations and preservation campaigns. The tribe, in conjunction with the National Congress of American Indians were against the construction of the sewage treatment plant on Deer Island in Boston Harbor where many graves were desecrated by its construction, and annually hold

2128-692: The Commission, who after the investigation by the State Archaeologist (in part in an effort to determine age of remains, decide the appropriate course of action. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts also cited the continuity of the Nipmuc(k) with the historic tribe and commended tribal efforts to preserve their culture and traditions. The state also symbolically repealed the General Court Act of 1675 that banned Native Americans from

2204-598: The Grafton school system. Brough attended engineering college in Washington D.C and went on to take special courses at the New York University, New York. She took up residence after completing her course and, working as a draftsperson, fashion designer, technical writer and supervisor of government projects. She also co-owned a textile printing company during her stay in Washington D.C. Brough served as

2280-600: The Hassanamisco Reservation. Events such as the Annual Clambake and elections on the 4th of July were times for Nipmucs to gather and discuss tribal business." Intermarriage between Whites, Blacks (or Chikitis ), and Native Americans began in early colonial times. Africans and Native Americans shared a complementary gender imbalance as slave-traders imported few female enslaved Africans into New England and many of Indian men died in war or joined

2356-486: The Hassanamisco guardian Stephen Maynard, appointed in 1776, embezzled the funds and was never prosecuted. New England rapidly became swept up in a series of wars between the French and British and their respective Indian allies. Many of the Native Americans of New England who had left the region joined the Abenaki , who were allied to the French; however, local Native Americans were often conscripted as guides or scouts for

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2432-648: The Massachusetts Bay Colony of 1629 called for the conversion of Native Americans to Christianity. The colonists did not begin this work in earnest until after the Pequot War proved their military superiority, and they gained official backing in 1644. Although many answered the call, the Rev. John Eliot , who had learned the Massachusett from tribe interpreters, compiled an Indian Bible and

2508-550: The Massachusetts Enfranchisement Act of 1869, an act which " detribalized " the historical Hassanamisco Indians and temporarily ended the State's relationship with them. At the time of the petition, the Nipmuc Nation group had 526 members. The Federal government rejected the Nipmuc Nation's argument that it has had continuous State recognition with a reservation. The Sisco family, one of the families in

2584-417: The Native Americans and assistant of Eliot, was careful to distinguish the Nipmuc (proper), Wabquasset , Quaboag, and Nashaway tribes. The situation was fluid since these Native groups were decentralized, and individuals unhappy with their chiefs freely joined other groups. In addition, shifting alliances were made based on kinship, military, and tributary relationships with other tribes. The formation of

2660-399: The Native Americans dispersed. Those Nipmuc that fled eventually assimilated into either the predominant host tribe or the conglomerate that developed. The Native Americans were reduced to wards of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and were represented by state-appointed non-Native guardians. Rapid acculturation and intermarriage led many to believe the Nipmuc had simply just vanished, due to

2736-500: The Native Americans had few assets besides land, much of the land was sold to pay for medical, legal and personal expenses, increasing the number of landless Native Americans. With smaller numbers and landholdings, Indian autonomy was worn away by the time of the Revolutionary War , the remaining reserve lands were overseen by colony- and later state-appointed guardians that were to act on the Native Americans' behalf. However,

2812-441: The Native Americans throughout the period. In 2010 researchers developed a new hypothesis on epidemics between 1616 and 1619 as being from leptospirosis complicated by Weil syndrome. As shown by the writings of Increase Mather , the colonists attributed the decimation of the Native Americans to God's providence in clearing the new lands for settlement, but they were accustomed to interpreting their lives in such religious terms. At

2888-402: The Nipmuc Nation, Brough was a published writer. In her capacity as an electronics engineer, worked in collaboration with Vance Parker and Brent Haslam and published research detailing theoretical applications of "Pattern Ratio Technique" to arrays. The findings were published in a 1969 scholastic issue of Defense Technical Information Center . Her published works include poetry, retellings of

2964-847: The Nipmuc branch of the council. Brough served on the Grafton Planning Board and Central Massachusetts Planning Board, and was involved in a number of other organizations such as the Grafton Forest Association, the Framingham Historical Society, the National Geographic Society, the Natural History Museum of New York, Mendon Historical Society, National Congress of American Indians, Technical Writers and Publishers Society, Worcester Art Museum,

3040-459: The capture of Mary Rowlandson , who was placed in captivity until ransomed for £20 and would later write a memoir of her captivity. The Native Americans lost the war, and survivors were hunted down, murdered, sold into slavery in the West Indies or forced to leave the area. The Nipmuc regrouped around their former Praying towns and were able to maintain a certain amount of autonomy using

3116-716: The century also saw active cultural and genealogical research by James L. Cisco and his daughter Sara Cisco Sullivan from the Grafton homestead, and worked closely with the remnants of other closely related tribes, such as Gladys Tantaquidgeon and the Fielding families of the Mohegan Tribe , Atwood L. Williams of the Pequot , and William L. Wilcox of the Narragansett . Together, various tribal members began sharing cultural memory, with pan-Indianism firmly taking root in

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3192-597: The charter of the Hassanamisco Foundation. According to the new amendments, Nipmuc reservation lands will never leave Nipmuc hands even if the Cisco bloodline comes to an end. The Cisco Homestead was also later recognized as an endangered historic resource and came under federal protection in 2009. Brough was actively involved in the Council of New England Indians. She organized the Council and established

3268-1365: The colonists and their non-converted brethren. The colonists and later state governments gradually sold off the plantations. By the end of the 19th century, only the Cisco homestead in Grafton was still owned by direct descendants of Nipmuc landholders. Following is a list of Indian Plantations (Praying towns) associated with the Nipmuc: Chaubunagungamaug , Chabanakongkomuk, Chaubunakongkomun, or Chaubunakongamaug Hassanamesit, Hassannamessit, Hassanameset, or Hassanemasset Magunkaquog , Makunkokoag, Magunkahquog, Magunkook, Maggukaquog or Mawonkkomuk Manchaug, Manchauge, Mauchage, Mauchaug, or Mônuhchogok Manexit, Maanexit , Mayanexit Nashoba Natick Okommakamesitt, Agoganquameset, Ockoocangansett, Ogkoonhquonkames, Ognonikongquamesit, or Okkomkonimset Packachoag, Packachoog, Packachaug, Pakachog, or Packachooge Quabaug, Quaboag, Squaboag Quinnetusset , Quanatusset, Quantiske, Quantisset, or Quatiske, Quattissick Wabaquasset, Wabaquassit, Wabaquassuck, Wabasquassuck, Wabquisset or Wahbuquoshish Wacuntuc, Wacantuck, Wacumtaug, Wacumtung, Waentg, or Wayunkeke Washacum or Washakim The Massachusetts Bay Colony passed numerous legislation against Indian culture and religion. New laws were passed to limit

3344-449: The colonists. Puritan settlers arrived in large numbers from 1620–1640, the ' Great Migration ' that increased their need to acquire more land. Since the colonists had conflicting colonial and royal grants, the settlers depended on having Indian names on land deeds to mark legitimacy. This process had serious flaws, as John Wompas deeded off many lands to the colonists to curry favor, many of which were not even his. The royal charter of

3420-536: The colonists. Many Nipmuc were held captive on Deer Island in Boston Harbor and died of disease and malnutrition, while others were executed or sold into slavery in the West Indies . Christian missionary John Eliot arrived in Boston in 1631. After learning the Massachusett language , which was widely understood throughout New England , he forcefully converted numerous Native Americans to Christianity, and with

3496-468: The colonists. Wars occupied much of the century, including King William's War , (1689–1699), Queen Anne's War (1704–1713), Dummer's War (1722–1724), King George's War (1744–1748) and the French and Indian War (1754–1760). Many Native Americans also died in service of the Revolutionary War . The upheaval of the Indian Wars and growing mistrust of the Native Americans by the colonists lead to

3572-819: The coming years, she worked in defense of the Nipmuc nation from cultural and historical dissolution. Brough was named chief of the Nipmuc people in 1959. In 1962 she founded the Hassanamisco Museum which was nicknamed "Memorial to the Eastern American Indian" to document and preserve Nipmuc heritage. The mission of the museum has now extended to include the historical preservation of hundreds of other Native American ethnic groups. The Hassanamisco Museum contains displays of artifacts, manuscripts, crafts, tribally specific legends, and news clippings pertaining to many Native American ethnic groups. She

3648-487: The creation of a state 'Commission on Indian Affairs.' The all-Indian Commission was established; it conferred state support for education, health care, cultural continuity, and protection of remaining lands for the descendants of the Wampanoag, Nipmuc and Massachusett tribes. The state also calls for the examination of all human remains discovered in the course of construction and other projects, requiring notification of

3724-430: The early 1950s there continued to be a limited community made up of some of the descendants of the original Hassanamisco families residing in Grafton and in the city of Worcester, Massachusetts but only two percent of the Nipmuc petitioner's members descend from the Hassanamisco property-owning families. It was not sufficiently proven that a community of Webster / Dudley Indian descendants and other Indians ancestral to

3800-520: The extinction of the Natick Dialect of the Massachusett language , and only one speaker could be found in 1798. A cultural practice that survived was peddling handcrafted, square-edged splint baskets and medicines. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts, after investigating the condition of the Native Americans, decided to grant citizenship to the Native Americans with the passage of the Massachusetts Enfranchisement Act of 1869, which ultimately led to

3876-479: The freshwater fishing place,' and also appears spelled as Neetmock , Notmook , Nippimook , Nipmaug , Nipmoog, Neepemut , Nepmet , Nepmock, Neepmuk , as well as modern Nipmuc(k) . Colonists and the Native Americans themselves used this term extensively after the growth of the praying towns . The French referred to most New England Native Americans as Loup , meaning 'Wolf [people]'. But Nipmuc refugees who had fled to French Colonial Canada and settled among

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3952-430: The help of Wawaus , also known as James the Printer (Nipmuc), published a Bible translated in Massachusett and a Massachusett grammar. Backed by the colonial government, he established several "Indian plantations" or praying towns , where Native Americans were coerced to settle and be instructed in European customs and converted to Christianity . The state of Massachusetts has a government-to-government relationship with

4028-399: The history of the Nipmuc people, and books of Nipmuc recipes. For her committed involvement with the community she was awarded the Camp Fire Girls Certificate of Appreciation of Outstanding Service in 1970. Brough is well known for her work to preserve Nipmuc heritage. Her most concerted effort was a petition for Nipmucs to be granted the status of one of the Federally recognized tribes of

4104-568: The influence of the powwows , or 'shamans', and restricted the ability of non-converted Native Americans to enter colonial towns on the Sabbath . The Nipmuc were also informed that any unimproved lands were fair game for incorporation into the growing colony. These draconian measures and the increasing amount of land lost to the settlers led many Nipmuc to join the Wampanoag chief Metacomet in his war against colonial expansion, known as King Philip's War , which would ravage New England from 1675 to 1676. The Native Americans that had already settled

4180-432: The meetinghouse and the center of the old praying village. However, The Trust for Public Land , the town of Grafton, the Grafton Land Trust, the Hassanamisco Nipmuc and the state of Massachusetts intervened. The Trust for Public Land purchased the property and kept it off the market until 2004, after sufficient funding was procured to permanently protect the property. The property also has ecological significance as it

4256-476: The owner of the Hassanamisco Reservation property, created a number of lists of Nipmuc Indians. The evolving governing documents and membership lists of the period from 1961 through 1979 expanded the definition of the Nipmuck group beyond the Hassanamisco to include families. The available evidence did not indicate to the government's satisfaction that the Nipmuc Nation maintained political influence over its members as an autonomous entity from historical times until

4332-417: The petition, retains ownership of 2.5 acres (10,000 m) of land originally reserved for the historical Hassanamisco Indians. This is the land in the Town of Grafton that is known as the "Hassanamisco Reservation." The Bureau of Indian Affairs determined that only two percent of the current membership of the Nipmuck Nation group descends from the historical Hassanamisco Indians. For at least 107 years, there

4408-407: The petitioner's members had coalesced around some of those Hassanamisco families by the 1920s. During the 1920s and 1930s there was some limited interaction in the context of pan-Indian organizations which also had non-Nipmuc and non-Indian members. The petitioner's ancestors did not constitute a distinct community from the 1920s through the 1950s. During the 1960s and 1970s, Zara Cisco Brough , then

4484-415: The present. Two percent of the members (which is 11 out of 526) descend from the historical Hassanamisco/Grafton Nipmuck tribe that was identified on the Earle Report in 1861. Fifty-three percent of the members (277 of 526) descend from six families (' Jaha, Humphrey, Belden, Pegan/Wilson, Pegan, Sprague ) that were identified as Dudley/Webster Indians in 1861. Thirty-four percent of the members descend from

4560-417: The region did not begin until after the settling of Plymouth Colony in 1620. These early seafarers introduced several infectious diseases to which the Native Americans had no prior exposure, resulting in epidemics with mortality rates as high as 90 percent. Smallpox killed many of the Native Americans from 1617–1619, 1633, 1648 to 1649, and 1666. Similarly influenza , typhus , and measles also afflicted

4636-416: The remaining lands to farm or sell timber. The population of the tribe was reduced as several outbreaks of smallpox returned in 1702, 1721, 1730, 1752, 1764, 1776, and 1792. Land sales continued unabated, much of it used to pay for legal fees, personal expenses, and improvements to the reserve lands. By 1727, Hassanamisset was reduced to 500 acres from the original 7,500 acres with that land incorporated into

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4712-479: The sale of any of the remaining lands. Hassanamessit was divided up among a few families. In 1897, the last of the Dudley lands were sold, and five of the families were placed in a tenement house on Lake Street in Webster, Massachusetts . "The rest scattered, moving with other Nipmuc families living in Woodstock, Worcester, Providence, and Hassanamisco. Worcester developed strong Indian enclaves in mainly African-American neighborhoods. Nipmuc activities became centered on

4788-407: The seven mandatory requirements to be a federally recognized tribe . The Nipmuc Nation founded a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization , the Nipmuc Nation Tribal Council, Inc. , based in South Grafton, Massachusetts , in 1998. The following is based upon "Proposed Finding Against Federal Acknowledgment of the Webster / Dudley Band of Chaubunagungamaug Nipmuck Indians" (Oct. 2001) and reiterated in

4864-431: The time of contact, the Nipmuc were a fairly large grouping, subject to more powerful neighbors who provided protection, especially against the Pequot , Mohawk and Abenaki tribes that raided the area. The colonists initially depended on the Native Americans for survival in the New World , and the Native Americans rapidly began to trade their foodstuffs, furs and wampum for the copper kettles, arms and metal tools of

4940-481: The town of Grafton, Massachusetts , and in 1797, Chaubunagungamaug Reserve was reduced to 26 of their 200 acres. The switch to the cattle industry also disrupted the native economy, as the colonists' cattle ate the unfenced lands of the Nipmuc and the courts did not always side with the Native Americans, but the Native Americans rapidly adopted the husbandry of swine since the changes in economy and loss of remaining pristine lands reduced ability to hunt and fish. Since

5016-422: The tribe in the mid-1990s. Divisions were caused by the frustrations with the slow pace of recognition as well as disagreements about gambling. Land, 190 acres, in the Hassanamessit Woods in Grafton , believed to contain the remains of the praying village were under agreement for development for more than 100 homes. This property has significant cultural importance to the Hassanamisco Nipmuc because it contains

5092-440: The whaling industry. Many Native American women married African men. Intermarriage with whites was uncommon, due to colonial anti-miscegenation laws in place. The children of such unions were accepted into the tribe as Native Americans, due to the matrilineal focus of Nipmuc culture, but to the eyes of their sceptical White neighbours, the increasingly Black phenotypes of some were seen to delegitimize their Indian identity. By

5168-420: Was James Printer (died 1712), who worked as a typesetter in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and was credited for his assistance in the Algonquin language Eliot Indian Bible , the first translation of the Bible into a native language. Zara Cisco was descended from James Printer. Brough's grandfather Chief James Lemeul Ciscoe was named chief of the Hassanamisco Nipmuc , and her great-grandfather Samuel C. Cisco

5244-435: Was a Chief of the Narragansett people . Her mother was also a chief the Nipmuc Nation. Brough spent her childhood at the Hassanamisco Indian reservation in Grafton , Massachusetts . According to her own account her interest in native Indian cultural heritage and history was sparked by her grandfather, who used to tell her about tribal traditions and rituals during her childhood. Brough received her primary education from

5320-432: Was also achieved by the end of the same decade, re-establishing the Nipmuc people's relationship with the state and providing limited social services. The Nipmuc sought federal recognition in the 1980s. Tension between the Nipmuc Nation, which included the Hassanamisco and many descendants of the Chaubunagungamaug, based in Sutton, Massachusetts , and the rest of the Chaubunagungamaug, based in Webster, Massachusetts split

5396-447: Was also responsible for the acquisition of dredging rights to Lake Ripple on behalf the Nipmuc Nation. Brough helped establish the Massachusetts Commission on Indian Affairs , which was created in 1974. Being a founding member of the commission, she was nominated for the position of Commissioner of Indian Affairs, a post which she held for 8 years from 1976 to 1984. During her tenure as the commissioner, she successfully lobbied to amend

5472-419: Was divided from 1727 to 1730 among seven Hassanamisco proprietary families who were each given individual ownership. The land was not the common property of a tribal entity and the State did not hold title to the reserved Hassanamisco property. There was no common fund, but each property-owning family got a share in the funds received from the sale of the land. The historical Hassanamisco Indians were affected by

5548-489: Was issued for the Chaubunagungamaug Nipmuck Band of Dudley, Massachusetts, which had its membership about evenly split between Massachusetts and Connecticut. In 2004, the BIA notified the Nipmuc Nation that they had been rejected for federal recognition. European sailors, fishermen, and adventurers began visiting New England during the early modern period . The first permanent settlements in

5624-548: Was no State-recognized Indian entity and no State supervision. A limited relationship was created between the Hassanamisco Nipmuc's and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts after the establishment of the Massachusetts Commission on Indian Affairs (MCIA) in 1976. As such, the Nipmuc Nation does not meet the Federal criterion which requires that it has been identified as an American Indian entity on

5700-544: Was submitted in 1861. Each report was more informative and thorough than the previous one. The Nipmuc require having an ancestor listed on these reports and the disbursement lists of funds from Nipmuc land sales. The lists did not count all Native Americans, as many Native Americans may have been well-integrated into other racial communities and due to the constant movement of Native Americans from place to place. Local attitudes towards Native American culture and history changed as antiquarians, anthropologists , institutions like

5776-611: Was the daughter of Sarah Cisco Sullivan and Charles Brough, and the granddaughter of James Lemuel Cisco. Her ancestry is traced back to William of Sudbury (1596–1676), who was also known by the names Naaos, Naoas, and Nataous. He served as a deacon in the Native church at Hassanamesit, which later came to be known as Grafton. According to the account by Richard W. Cogley in the New England Historical and Genealogical Register , William of Sudbury fathered four sons, one of whom

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