Begin Again Wabanaki


Death of Metacom or King Phillip, 1881

Death of Metacom or King Phillip, 1881
Item 16499   info
Maine Historical Society

Metacom, called "King Philip" by the English Puritans, became the Sachem (leader) of the Wampanoag Nation in what is now known as Massachusetts after the death of his father Massasoit and the murder of his brother, Wamsutta. Like his Wabanaki counterparts, Metacom's role included negotiating land privileges with the settler colonialists.

Metacom's tenure as sachem came at a time of tension between the Plymouth Colony, which was increasing in population, and the Wampanoag who were defending their Homelands. King Philip's War broke out in 1675, with what is now known as Maine at the northern edge of the fighting.

Metacom was murdered on August 12th, 1676, but the successive wars resulting from colonial settler theft of Indigenous Homelands raged in Maine until 1763.

The inscription on this engraving reads: "Philip, the Indian King, having defended himself and his Countrymen to the last extremity, was killed near Mount Hope in Rhode Island. Aug. 12th, 1676."

Robinhaud deed to land at Sheepscot River, 1662

Robinhaud deed to land at Sheepscot River, 1662
Item 7354   info
Maine Historical Society

The Indian Sagamore Robinhaud (Robinhood) and son, both of Wiscasset confirmed the right of Thomas Clives (Cleaves) and his heirs and assigns to the peaceful possession of a tract of land between the upper and lower narrows on the west side of the Sheepscot River.

The settler-colonialists gave this nickname, Robinhood, to Rawandagon, a chief from Wiscasset and the Kennebec River area, Born around 1600, Rawandagon was the son of Chief Manawormet and himself had two sons, one named Wohawa (Hope Hood).

When English people arrived in what is now known as Maine, Wabanaki leaders worked to incorporate settlers into their social and ecological networks, to create responsible relationships, and alliances with their guests.

English colonial settlers, working under the guise of the Doctrines of Discovery and English law, misinterpreted Native hospitality, and misunderstood the obligations that accompanied the privilege of sharing space. As Wabanaki people strove to incorporate settlers into their complex cultural and economic systems, the settler colonialists sought only Native signatures and consent of land ownership on deeds.

If settler colonialists claimed rights to the land through the Doctrines of Discovery, why did they need to buy the land and create deeds? Maine was an internationally contested area, and multiple European nations were trying to colonize the area—a deed was one way of proving ownership. Also, English law began seeing Maine real estate transactions in the same manner as property changing hands in England. Lastly, settler colonialists understood that "buying" land was easier than taking it, an action that might lead to violence.

Wesumbe deed, Nov. 28, 1668

Wesumbe deed, Nov. 28, 1668
Item 7287   info
Maine Historical Society

Wesumbe, a Wabanaki Sagamore called "Captain Sandy" by the English, deeded twenty square miles of land between the Great and Little Ossipee Rivers to Francis Small of Kittery, who operated a trading post at the site. Small's payment included two large Indian blankets, two gallons of rum, two pounds of powder, four pounds of musket balls and twenty strings of Indian beads.

Wabanaki people had regular meetings with one another to renew agreements and relationships. Wabanaki leaders used English-based deeds to open diplomatic ties with the settler colonialists, similar to their tribal relationships. While the payment might seem minimal, it is more reasonable if seen as a yearly offering.

Map of the British and French North America, 1775

Map of the British and French North America, 1775
Item 11827   info
Maine Historical Society

Englishman John Mitchell's monumental map demonstrates how British and French governments attempted to use European laws to control Indigenous Homelands. The effects of settler colonialism are visualized here, like a snapshot in time. The land that had been affected by colonization since the 1600s show English and French place names imposed on Native territories, especially along the coast of what is now Maine and Massachusetts.

Areas further west retain Native names—and the mystery of the unknown and what the European Imperialist mind viewed as "empty spaces." Notes on the map describe how the land might be used for profit, the natural resources and potential for settlement of frontier regions. Some describe the Tribes and show ancient Native routes.

This map is dated 1775 but is the seventh version of the original, which was printed in 1755. The Library of Congress's Geography and Map Division called Mitchell's map "the most important map in American history."

Thomas Jefferson contemplating the sale of frontier land, Philadelphia, 1776

Thomas Jefferson contemplating the sale of frontier land, Philadelphia, 1776
Item 102165   info
Maine Historical Society

Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) was a delegate from Virginia to the Continental Congress during the American Revolution, the primary writer of the Declaration of Independence, the third President of the United States, and a slave owner.

In this letter, Jefferson contemplated selling or giving "unsettled land" to the west—otherwise known as Indigenous Homelands—to poor immigrants following America's divorce from Great Britain.

Jefferson's opinion that the western territories were open for the taking without considering Indigenous sovereignty demonstrates the settler colonialist viewpoints that began with the Doctrines of Discovery and became cemented into the U.S. governmental structure. Jefferson's zeal for the Revolution and distaste for Indigenous Nations appears on the last page of this letter, where he mentions the Haudenosaunee Confederacy (Six Nations), the Senecas, the Shawnee (Shawanese), Delawares, and foreshadows the Cherokee Trail of Tears:

We directed a declaration to be made to the Six Nations in general that if they did not take the most decisive measures for the preservation of neutrality we would never cease waging war with them while one was to be found on the face of the earth. They immediately changed their conduct & I doubt not have given corresponding information to the Shawanese & the Delawares. I hope the Cherokees will now be driven beyond the Mississippi & that this in future will be declared to the Indians the invariable consequence of their beginning a war. Our contest with Britain is too serious & too great to permit any possibility of avocation from the Indians. This then is the reason for driving them off, & our Southern colonies are happily rid of every other enemy & may exert their whole force in that quarter.

The letter's recipient, Edmund Pendleton (1721-1803) was the Speaker of the Virginia legislature and a slave owner. Pendleton proposed the modification in the statement of universal rights in Virginia's declaration to exclude slaves, thus winning the support of slave owners.

This slideshow contains 5 items