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Cowasuck

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For the village, see Newbury (town), Vermont § History.
Cowasuck
Goasək
Western Abenaki territory
Historical Cowasuck territory, c. 17th century
Total population
Unknown, most merged with St. Francis Abenaki in the late 18th century[1]
Regions with significant populations
New Hampshire, Vermont, Quebec
Languages
Abenaki language
Religion
Indigenous religion, Roman Catholicism
Related ethnic groups
other Western Abenaki people

The Cowasuck, also known as Cowass, is an Algonquian-speaking Native American tribe in northeastern North America and the name of their primary settlement.

Linguistically and culturally the Cowasuck belong to the Western Abenaki and the Wabanaki Confederacy.[2] They are Western Abenaki who live in and around the village of Cowass, which became Newbury, Vermont.[3]

Name

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The name Cowasuck comes from the Abenaki word Goasek which means "White Pines Place", an area near colonialist named Newbury, Vermont.[4][5] The members of the tribe are called Goasiak (singular: Goasi), which means "the people of the white pines".[4]

Variant spellings of the place name include Koés in French and Cohass, Cohoss, or Coos in English, and an alternate demonym is Cohassiac.[3] Coös County, the northernmost county in New Hampshire, derives from the Wôbanakiak word.[6]

Territory

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The Cowasuck formerly resides on the upper Connecticut River, with the main village of Cowasuck, now Newbury, located in the states of New Hampshire and Vermont.[7] The river valley forest was a mixture of deciduous trees, hemlocks, and white pines, growing on light soils or old fields.[8] The villages were typically set up on the edge of a cliff or terraces, near the alluvial land suitable for growing corn, and with nearby rivers with sufficient water supply [7] All villages were close to a river or lake, which served for fishing and as a travel route. Their wigwams were rectangular, covered with bark, had domed roofs with a hole as a flue for each fire, and had room for several families.

N’dakinna, "homeland" in Western Abenaki, is of central importance to the Cowasuck Abenaki people.[9]

History

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Indigenous peoples lived along the Kwenitekw (Connecticut River/Long River) and its tributaries, along what is known today as the central borderlands of Vermont and New Hampshire.

16th century

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They are written about in colonial documents dating from the 17th century.[10] Northeast Woodland Tribal presence of this region existed long before European settlement, as evidenced by a nearly 13,000-year-old Indigenous village found in Keene, New Hampshire[11] demonstrating that Paleo-Indians were present in the region from around the end of the last ice age.[12][9]

17th century

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French colonists wrote early accounts of the Western Abenaki, but the French preoccupation consisted of proselytizing and fighting the English. However, the French practice of calling the Cowasuck by the name Penacook, led to misunderstandings in their reports.[13][better source needed]This however is not mentioned in another authoritative source on the Penacook.[14] The tribes of the Western Abenaki were referred to by the names of each individual group. Cowasuck and Pennacook appeared to be distinct groups.[15]

The first French priests of the Jesuit Order came to New France around 1611. Unlike the grey-robed Puritans in New England, the Jesuits did not try to assimilate Native people into French society. From Abenaki oral history suggests that French missionaries were active since 1615 in Abenaki villages on the shores of Lake Champlain.[16]

Jesuit Fathers often acted both as military and political agents of the French crown and as servants of God. They traveled alone in the Indigenous land, visited the villages of the Abenaki, and took part in the life of the Indigenous people.[17] Some of them, like Father Sébastien Rale, became intimate connoisseurs of Native American culture. He produced an extensive dictionary of the Abenaki language.[18]

The missionaries learned the language of the Native Americans, adopted their style of speech, and tried as far as possible to follow their customs and manners. They had no interest in the Abenaki land, in their women, or in the fur trade. Their poverty and devotion were respected and their courage, as well as their apparent immunity to the diseases that the communities healers faced helplessly, was admired by the natives. They shared the lives of the Indigenous peoples and earned their trust, although their missionary vocation demanded that they renounce Native American culture, the disempowerment of religious leaders, and the spiritual and social revolution. The missionaries were the lawyers for the Abenaki and helped them to better overcome the differences between Native American and European cultures. Sometimes they also represented the Abenaki in negotiations with the English. Men like Sébastien Rale became central figures in the Abenaki story. Soon the Abenaki were reputed to be the most pious Catholics and to be among the most loyal Native American friends of New France.

18th century

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The Cowasuck numbered around 300 in the early 18th century, but this includes different groups passing through the Cowass area, an important area connecting Canada and the Coastal United States.[19] In 1704, Cowasucks sent representatives to meet with the Governor-General of New France Philippe de Rigaud, Marquis de Vaudreuil in Quebec. He suggested they move north to Quebec to avoid the English; however, they declined this opportunity.[20] At that time Mohegans attached residents of Cowass.[20] Cowasucks likely fled to a remote area.[20] In 1712, Cowass was deserted, and French maps from 1713 and 1715 labeled Cowass as "Koēs, ancien village des loups" and it was likely later reoccupied.[21] At that time Mohegans attached residents of Cowass.[20]

The era was marked by warfare, including the French and Indian War of 1754 to 1763, in which the Abenaki sided with the French, and the American Revolutionary War. While many Western Abenaki tried to remain neutral during the Revolutionary War, others joined in both sides of the war.[22] Historian Colin G. Calloway wrote: "Traditionally, the final quarter of the eighteenth century stands as the time when the last western Abenaki disappeared from Vermont and New Hampshire, when the few survivors finally pulled up their roots and followed their relatives to Canada."[23] However, he points out that some remained in Vermont during the Revolutionary War.[23]

By 1798, most Cowasuck had joined the St. Francis Abenaki in Quebec, while hunting and fishing in their previous territories in New Hampshire.[1]

19th century

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Joseph Laurent, an Abenaki chief (sôgmô) from Odanak, Quebec, moved to Intervale, New Hampshire in the late 19th century, maintained an Indian trading post and became a local postmaster. His former trading post is now a U.S. historical site. Laurent also wrote an Abenaki English dialogs dictionary.[24]

State-recognized tribes and heritage groups

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Vermont has designated four state-recognized tribes, all of which identify as being Abenaki, and two specifically identify as being descendants of the Cowasuck people. Vermont recognized the Nulhegan Band of the Coosuk Abenaki Nation in 2011 and the Koasek Koas Abenaki Tribe in 2012.[25]

New Hampshire has the New Hampshire State Commission on Native American Affairs[26] but no state-recognized tribes.[27]

Several organizations that self-identify as Native American tribes who identify as being Cowasuck are active in Vermont and New Hampshire; however, their claims to Abenaki ancestry are disputed.[28] One NH group and its (sôgmô) requires native lineage proof.[29]

One unrecognized organization, the Cowasuck Band-Abenaki People of Franklin, Massachusetts sent a letter of intent to petition for federal recognition as a Native American tribe in 1995[30] but have not followed through with a petition. The Ko'asek (Co'wasuck) Traditional Band of the Sovereign Abenaki Nation, a cultural heritage group with 430 members(2021), owns 10 acres in Claremont used for ceremonies.[31]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ a b Calloway, The Western Abenakis of Vermont, p. 231.
  2. ^ Day, Gornon M. (April 1981). "Abenaki Place-Names in the Champlain Valley". International Journal of American Linguistics. 47 (2). University of Chicago Press: 144. doi:10.1086/465683. JSTOR 1264435. S2CID 143643483.
  3. ^ a b Calloway, Colin G. (March 15, 1994). The Western Abenakis of Vermont, 1600-1800: War, Migration, and the Survival of an Indian People. University of Oklahoma Press. p. 8. ISBN 0806125683.
  4. ^ a b Roberts Clark, Patricia (October 21, 2009). Tribal Names of the Americas: Spelling Variants and Alternative Forms, Cross-Referenced. McFarland & Company. pp. 56, 73. ISBN 978-0786438334.
  5. ^ "Tribal Information for Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station" (PDF). United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission. April 10, 2006. p. 4. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  6. ^ Bright, William (2004). Native American Placenames of the United States. Norman, Oklahoman: University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 978-0-8061-3598-4. Retrieved January 30, 2024.
  7. ^ a b Mathewson III, R. Duncan (2011). "Western Abenaki of the Upper Connecticut River Basin: Preliminary Notes on Native American Pre-Contact Culture in Northern New England" (PDF). The Journal of Vermont Archaeology. 12: 7. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  8. ^ Abrams, Marc D. (November 2001). "Eastern White Pine Versatility in the Presettlement Forest: This eastern giant exhibited vast ecological breadth in the original forest but has been on the decline with subsequent land-use changes". BioScience. 51 (11): 967. doi:10.1641/0006-3568(2001)051[0967:EWPVIT]2.0.CO;2. S2CID 87959509.
  9. ^ a b Harris, Michael (2021). "N'dakinna: Our Homeland...Still – Additional Examples of Abenaki Presence in New Hampshire". Spectrum. 10 (1): 1. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  10. ^ Goodby, Robert G. (7 May 2021). "A Deep Presence: 13,000 Years of Native American History". Retrieved 2024-01-02.
  11. ^ "12,000 years ago in the granite state". 26 October 2023. Retrieved 2024-01-02.
  12. ^ "12,000 Years Ago in the Granite State". New Hampshire Humanities. Patch.com. Retrieved 2023-10-04.
  13. ^ "Place Names Divide Indigenous Communities in New Engiand". 20 July 2020. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
  14. ^ "The Pennacook people" (PDF). Retrieved February 5, 2024.
  15. ^ "NH Folklife learning". Retrieved February 5, 2024.
  16. ^ Dill, Jordan. "Abenaki History". Tolatsga. Archived from the original on 24 April 2021. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  17. ^ BELMESSOUS, Saliha (April 2005). "Assimilation and Racialism in Seventeenth and Eighteenth-Century French Colonial Policy". American Historical Review. 110 (2): 322–349. doi:10.1086/531317. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  18. ^ Sébastien Rasles (1833). Pickering, John (ed.). A Dictionary of the Abnaki Language, in North America. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  19. ^ Calloway, The Western Abenakis of Vermont, pp. 83–84.
  20. ^ a b c d Calloway, The Western Abenakis of Vermont, pp. 104–05.
  21. ^ Calloway, The Western Abenakis of Vermont, pp. 108–09.
  22. ^ Calloway, The Western Abenakis of Vermont, p. 205.
  23. ^ a b Calloway, The Western Abenakis of Vermont, p. 204.
  24. ^ Laurent, Joseph (1884). "New Familiar Abenakis and English Dialogues (1884)". Retrieved January 28, 2024.
  25. ^ "State Recognized Tribes". Vermont Commission on Native American Affairs. State of Vermont. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  26. ^ "State Committees and Commissions on Indian Affairs". National Conference of State Legislatures. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  27. ^ Whidden, Jenny; Burch, Kelly (September 7, 2022). "New Hampshire is the only New England state with no recognized tribes. ..." The Keene Sentinel. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  28. ^ Furukawa, Julia; Reed, Elodie (August 9, 2023). "Why Vermont tribes, New Hampshire groups might claim to be Abenaki without ever proving ancestry". New Hampshire Public Radio. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  29. ^ Bunnell, Paul Joseph (2004). French and Native North American Marriages 1600-1800. Heritage Books. ISBN 978-0-7884-2595-0. Retrieved February 3, 2024.
  30. ^ "List of Petitioners by State" (PDF). Office of Federal Acknowledgment. U.S. Department of the Interior, Indian Affairs. November 12, 2013. p. 27. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  31. ^ Adrian, Patrick (December 24, 2021). "Giving Thanks: Ko'asek community hosts traditional fire ceremony". Eagle Times. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
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References

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