Tag Archives: New York Indians

Brothertown Elections: A 233-Year-Old Tradition

07 Monday May 2018

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Brothertown held its first annual election on the 7th of November 1785.  On that day, as can be read in Occom’s journal, the names of the elected were as follows:  Jacob Fowler was chosen Town Clerk, Roger Waupieh, David Fowler, Elijah Wympy, John Tuhy, and Abraham Simon were chosen to be Trustees; and Andrew Acorrocomb and Thomas Putchauker were chosen as Fence Viewers.  This board of Trustees would have handled Tribal business and responsibilities very much like our current Council is tasked with.  The Fence Viewers, while not quite Peacemakers (a position which did not exist in Brothertown until 1796), did help to maintain the peace as far as livestock was concerned.  For example, it would’ve been their job to make sure that any fences were secure.  Even where there were no fences, it would have been their duty to ensure that one family’s horse was not eating another family’s corn.  If such a thing did happen, they would find a solution to keep it from happening again.

On May 19th, the Tribe will hold its next annual election.  I encourage all of you to participate in this 233-year-old Brothertown tradition and exercise your right to vote.  As of this writing (Monday May 7, 2018), there are still 11 more mailing days before absentee ballots have to be in Fond du Lac in order to be counted.  If you have not mailed your ballot and verification form back yet, please do so today.  If you haven’t decided who to vote for, you may find it helpful to watch Brothertown Forward’s recorded Meet-the-Candidates presentation (link available for the asking).

Carry on our 233-year-old Brothertown tradition and vote!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Anniversary, Brothertown!

13 Tuesday Mar 2018

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245 years ago today, March 13, 1773, our ancestors gathered in Mohegan for the first planning meeting for the community that would eventually become Brothertown. Happy Anniversary, Brothertown!

Joseph Johnson Presentation This Sunday

27 Tuesday Feb 2018

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This Sunday, March 4th at 6:00pm CT/7:00 ET, Ms. Laura Murray, author of To Do Good to My Indian Brethren, will be speaking to us about her research and book on Joseph Johnson, the youngest of our Brothertown founding fathers. Not only is this a unique opportunity to gain insight and to speak with a knowledgeable researcher and author on Joseph Johnson, but it is also a great opportunity to connect with your Brothertown family no matter where you live. Don’t miss out!

To log in, please go to https://zoom.us/j/2529226987 or dial +1 646 876 9923 and enter the Meeting ID: 252 922 6987.

This is a family-friendly event and is open to the public. See you there!

“What’s In A Name?” Part IV: Happy Eeyawquittoowauconnuck Day!

07 Tuesday Nov 2017

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Today, November 7, 2017, marks the 232nd anniversary of the “incorporation” and naming of Brothertown.  On Monday November 7, 1785, Occom noted in his journal that, “we named our town by the name of Brotherton, in Indian Eeyawquittoowauconnuck.”  By virtue of the fact that Occom included this “Indian” name in his journal, we can make the assumption that this detail was important.  However, while we know that Eeyawquittoowauconnuck means “Brotherton”, ideas vary a bit on exactly how Eeyawquittoowauconnuck would be translated.

In his book, Becoming Brothertown:  Native American Ethnogenesis and Endurance in the Modern World, Craig Cipolla makes the claim that Eeyawquittowauconnuck means “town or plantation of equals or brothers,” or “many eat from one dish” (p95).  In The Collected Writings of Samson Occom, Mohegan, Joanna Brooks quotes Stephanie Fielding (great great great niece of Mohegan linguist Fidelia Fielding*) who “believes that [it] translates as “he does so like someone looking in a certain direction or a certain way.”  Phrased differently, this meaning might indicate a group united by a distinctive shared perspective” (p 25, footnote).

While the proffered translations may not be exact and are each a little different, Eeyawquittoowauconnuck reflected the desire of its founders that it be a distinct place where inhabitants with a common vantage point were bonded to one another within a caring community.

…..to be continued.

* ling.yale.edu/news/Stephanie-fielding-interviewed-wnpr

What’s In A Name Part III: “The E-Word”

01 Wednesday Nov 2017

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“The E-word”

Daunted by its 22 letters and 7 syllables, some people simply refer to it as “the E-word”.   However, Eeyawquittoowauconnuck is not just a word; it is a name.  It is our name; one that holds meaning and value for us as a People.  For those who are not already comfortable using it, it is well worth taking a few minutes to become more familiar with “Eeyawquittoowauconnuck”*.

For the sake of ease, let’s start by dividing Eeyawquittoowauconnuck into 7 manageable syllables.  They look like this:

  • Ee
  • Yaw
  • quit
  • too
  • wau
  • con
  • nuck

Now, lets pronounce them*.  Try saying these out loud:

“Ee” (pronounced just like it looks…like the long sound of the letter “e” as in “me”)–Ee

“Yaw” (rhyme it with “paw”)–Yaw

Next, put those 2 together:  “Ee”+“Yaw”= “Eeyaw”.

Say it out loud so your tongue and ears get used to it.

 

Next, is

“quit”(pronounce it with a long “ee” sound in the middle so it rhymes with “tweet”)—quit

“too”(also like the English word too)—too

Now put them together and say them out loud.  “quit”+”too”=“quittoo”.

Let’s go back and pick up the first part and pair it with this:  “Eeyaw” + “quittoo”=“Eeyawquittoo”

Good job, we’re almost done!

The next 3 syllables are:

“wau” (rhyme it with “la”)—wau

“con” (like the English word con)—con

“nuck” (rhymes with truck)—nuck

Now, put those 3 together:  “wau”+”con”+”nuck”=“wauconnuck”.  Say it again, “wauconnuck”.

Finally, lets put the entire word back together: “Eeyawquittoo”+”wauconnuck”=”Eeyawquittoowauconnuck”. 

Congratulations, you did it!  Now keep using it.  Try it out at the next Brothertown gathering, teach it to your kids, greet one another with it.  Eeyawquittoowauconnuck is who we are.  Say it often and say it proudly: Eeyawquittoowauconnuck!

 

*It should be noted that the above pronunciation of “Eeyawquittoowauconnuck” is based on the author’s personal estimation of Occom’s spelling of the word as found in his journal entry of November 7, 1785.  Occom had a strong grasp of the phonetic sounds of English letters and wrote the name accordingly.  The author acknowledges that there is, however, some room for variation.  For example, the double o’s in the 4th syllable, “too,” suggest that Occom heard it as either the “oo” sound as in “too”(as presented here) or possibly, the “Uh” sound as in “book”.   Mohegan linquist, Stephanie Fielding, suggests that Eeyawquittoowauconnuck, in Mohegan orthography today, might be spelled “Iyáhqituwôkanuk”(1).  Using the Mohegan pronunciation guide(2), as found in Fielding’s work at http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/collections/MoheganDictionary.pdf, the pronunciation of this 4th syllable (“too”/”tu”), might change the sound into “uh” as in “pup”.

  • Brooks, Joanna. The Collected Writings of Samson Occom, Mohegan. p25, Footnote 28.
  • Fielding, Stephanie. A Modern Mohegan Dictionary, 2006, pp 9-10.

On This Date in Brothertown History: October 4th, 1774

04 Wednesday Oct 2017

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243 years ago, on October 4th, 1774, the land contract between the Oneida and the “New England Indians” was drawn up and signed.  Officiating was Guy Johnson, who had recently succeeded his late uncle, Sir William Johnson, as Superintendent of Indian Affairs for the northern portion of North America.  A copy of this document is transcribed below.  To see the copy this was taken from, as well as many other Brothertown-related New York documents, please visit the “Brothertown, New York” section of the Digital Historical Library on this site*.

By Guy Johnson Esquire, Superintendant of Indian affairs for the Northern Department of North America, &c, &c.

Whereas the Indians of Mohegan Narragansett, Montock Pequots of Groton and Stoneington, Nahantic, Farmington, inhabiting within the New England Governments, did last year represent that they were very much straightened and reduced to such small pittances of land that they could no longer remain there and did through the channel of Sir William Johnson Bar & late superintendent apply to the Six Nations for some lands to live on which was at length agreed to in my presence at the last Treaty and a Tract allowed them by the Oneidas and whereas some of them have since in company with the Oneida chiefs, viewed the said lands and determined on its boundaries as follows desireing a certificate of the same as that it might be entered on the records of Indian affairs Viz.  Beginning at the west end of the scaniadaries or the long lakes which is at the head of one of the branches of Orisca Creek from thence about twelve miles northerly or so far that an easterly course from a certain point on the first mentioned course shall intersect the road or pathway leading crom old Oneida to the German flats, where the said path crosses Scanindowa Creek the line settled as the limits between the province of New York and the Indian at the Treaty of Fort Stanwix in 1768, thence Southerly along the said line about thirteen miles or so far that a westerly line from thence keeping one line south of the most Southerly bend of Orisca Creek shall reach the place of beginning do as to comprehend(??) the lake first mentioned. 

 I do therefore in compliance with the joint request of the said Oneida and the  said New England Indians declare that the said Oneidas do grant to the said New England Indians and their posterity forever, without power of alienation to any subject the afore described tract with this appernenancies in the amplest manner-also full liberty of hunting all sorts of game throughout the whole country of Oneidas beaver hunting only excepted, with this particular clause or reservation that the same shall not be possessed by any persons deemed of the said Tribes, who are decended from or intermixed with Negroes or Mulattoes**.

Even under my hand and seal at Arms at Guy Park- October the 4th 1774

                                (Signed) Guy Johnson (and his seal)           

We the chiefs in testimony of the foregoing affix the character of our Tribes unto the day and year above mentioned,

 The Mark of Longhqish(turtle)  The mark of Ughmyonge (wolf)  The mark of Canadegona (bear)

 

*A special thank you to the Hamilton College Library staff for their assistance in providing this, and numerous other Brothertown-related digital documents.

** The exclusion of “Negroes and Mulattoes” from Indian lands was a legal requirement implemented by the Colonies in an effort to quell the possibility of concentrated slave uprisings (1).

(1) Stone, Gaynell.  The History & Archaeology of the Montauk Volume III 2nd Edition, 1993, p. 520

“What’s In A Name?”

12 Tuesday Sep 2017

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Part I: An Introduction to Brothertown

While it may be tempting to believe that our Brothertown ancestors, with their agricultural lifestyle, European clothing, Colonial homes, and English speech, were doing everything they could to leave their “Indianness” behind them, that would be an erroneous notion.  On the contrary, preserving their race and heritage was extremely important to the Brothertown founders.  There are a number of examples one could offer as proofs of this but none so starkly evident as that line from Occom’s journal entry of November 7, 1785, which reads, “We named our town by the name of Brotherton; in Indian Eeyawquittoowauconnuck (emphasis added)(1).”

The formation of this town was not undertaken lightly.  Plans began at least as far back as March 13, 1773, when members of seven Native communities met in Mohegan (2).  Long trips were taken on foot through the snow(3), letters were written(4), Oneida headmen and local leaders like William Johnson(5), the area’s British Superintendent of Indian Affairs, were consulted.  A “Colony Law Book” was obtained (6), a layout of the new town was drawn up, and agreements were made on how the town would be run and who would oversee certain positions (7).  Primarily due to the American Revolution, nearly 15 years passed between that first meeting in Mohegan and the day they finally “formed into a body politick” on their new land.  This was a well-planned and long-sought-after venture.  The name they gave to their town could not have been bestowed lightly either; it too was well considered.

…..to be continued

 

(1)Occom, Samson. Journal entry November 7, 1785.

(2)Murray, Linda. To Do Good to My Indian Brethren: The Writings of Joseph Johnson, 1751-1776, p 207.

(3) Hutchins Report, https://www.madisoncounty.ny.gov/motf/brothertownone%5B1%5D.pdf,p.24.

(4) Ibid p23ff.

(5) Ibid

(6)Wimpey, Elijah. Letter to the House of Representatives of the Colony of Connecticut, May 25, 1774. Available online through the Yale Indian Papers Project.

(7)Occom, Samson. Journal entry of November 7, 1785