Though I settled on creating fictional tribes for THE FALCON, THE WOLF, AND THE HUMMINGBIRD, I learned a lot about the indigenous tribes of southern New England.
The graphic shows the tribes who lived in precolonial Connecticut. Those that lived along the coast grew the Three Sisters of maize, beans and squash and fished and dug shellfish.
I mentioned in a previous post the tribes that survive to this day: Golden Hill Paugussett, Mashantucket Pequot, Mohegan, Paucatuck Eastern Pequot, and Schaghticoke.
The Mashantucket Pequot are among the most resilient. The tribe was almost completely wiped out during the 2-year Pequot War from 1636 - 38. Colonists, along with the Narrangasett and Mohegan, ganged up on the Pequot, killing 700, with hundreds more sold into slavery.
The Machantucket Pequot not only survived, but now own the fabulous Foxwoods Casino. Achieving that success was no doubt a long, hard journey.
Do you know the Native American tribes of your region?
My area of south San Francisco Bay: the Ohlone.
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THE FALCON, THE WOLF AND THE HUMMINGBIRD a historical novel, Sept. 19, 2023
BLISS ROAD, a memoir
WINTER LIGHT, a novel
THE WIND THIEF, a novel
GROWING GREAT CHARACTERS, a resource for writers
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