Description
The Massachusett were a Native American tribe from the region in and around present-day Greater Boston in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name comes from the Massachusett language term for "At the Great Hill," referring to the Blue Hills overlooking Boston Harbor from the south. As some of the first people to make contact with European explorers in New England, the Massachusett and fellow coastal peoples were severely decimated from an outbreak of leptospirosis circa 1619, which had mortality rates as high as 90 percent in these areas. This was followed by devastating impacts of virgin soil epidemics such as smallpox, influenza, scarlet fever and others to which the Indigenous people lacked natural immunity.
Language
The Massachusett language is an Algonquian language of the Algic language family that was formerly spoken by several peoples of eastern coastal and southeastern Massachusetts.
Culture
Massachusett Tribal life was matriarchal. Women of the tribe trapped small game, gathered shellfish, wild grains, greens and herbs for food and medicine. The women of the tribe owned and tended the planting fields, and preserved the harvests. Men of the tribe were responsible for mining, whaling, fishing and hunting and for protecting the tribe and its territory. The women were also the potters and basket weavers, wood gatherers and fire keepers. Women took an active role in decision making along with the men and elders within the tribe.