Mohican History Walking Tour of Stockbridge (Stop Two)

Chief Konkapot’s Property

This post is a continuation of my series of eleven stops along the Stockbridge Main Street walk.A description of Stop One in this series is here, which includes links to an introductory video as well as one with other information on the history surrounding the property that now holds the Town Offices.

Before I leave that venue to move across the street to John Konkapot’s land, I will add some more comments about Native words and explain why there were two Sachems in Stockbridge.

Selection of a new Sachem

“Sachem” is an Algonkian word that is often translated as “Chief” although that may be misleading. The role of the Sachem was complex and demanding — Sachems were highly respected, but not authoritarian. The word itself is an Anglicized cognate of the early “sākimāw“ root that found its expression in various ways in Algonkian dialects. In Abenaki, the word is “sôgmô“ and in some other dialects the variation is “sagamore” — in all cases the beginning of the word is properly pronounced “sah” although “say-chem” is a common Anglicized pronunciation.

Another Algonkian word that is handy to know is the third person singular pronoun. In English, the third person pronoun traditionally requires one to chose a gender (he or she). Today, many people use “they” to avoid gendering. In Algonkian, that is not an issue, since the language does not involve gender. The pronoun differs somewhat from one dialect to another — in Abenaki the word is “agma” meaning “that one” or “the other one” with no reference to gender.

Local practices vary, but in most of Turtle Island (the Haudenosaunee name for North America) the clan system is an important element of the culture. In this neck of the woods, a child was born into the clan of the mother, whereas in other places (such as Ndakinna — the Abenaki homelands) a child belongs to the clan of the father. In all cases, marriages within a clan are forbidden, and the clan animal is never part of the diet of its clan members. Clan loyalty extends beyond cultural boundaries, forming an intricate web of relationships that help bring people of different Nations together.

Clans are an important element in local governance. Each clan has a Clan Mother (usually, though not necessarily, the oldest woman in the clan). Around here, if there were to be a need for a new Sachem, the clan mothers would meet and decide on the best candidate. Then the Village would meet in assembly to discuss. Although Native culture has since evolved, out of necessity, to accommodate the practices of the now-dominant European invaders, in the time period we are discussing here, the traditional form of government was not a democracy. Instead, issues (such as selecting a Sachem) would be discussed until a consensus was reached.

Duties of a Sachem

Persons of any gender could be selected as Sachem, although the position was often (perhaps usually) filled by men. The Sachem had a dual role in dealing with both internal and external affairs.

Within the community, disputes were brought to the Sachem for advice. Agma [definition above] would suggest a cure. Say, for example, in the course of an angry exchange, one person had destroyed a piece of property. The Sachem might rule that the offender should replace the item and offer a small gift by way of apology. But the Sachem’s ruling did not have the force of law as we think of it — there was no immediate repercussion if the offender chose to ignore it. The culture did not have laws per se. There were no formal penalties nor did the Natives practice incarceration. That did not mean, however, that an offender could get off scot-free. Anyone who flaunted the judgment of the Sachem was subject to acute social pressure and condemnation. This could be a serious punishment in a tightly-knit community.

The external duties of the Sachem did not include warfare. In the rare instances that a community decided to go onto a war footing (perhaps in defense, or to avenge an egregious wrong), a War Sachem and Council would be selected to oversee the (usually brief) war effort. The peacetime Sachem would step aside.

In normal times, the Sachem was expected to welcome strangers into the community. If someone was passing through on a journey, the Sachem would offer lodging and provide any food or clothing the traveler might need, as well as giving directions to the next destination. Long-distance travel (mostly by men) was very common, either for adventure or more often for trading, such as bringing wampum (quahog) shells up from the seacoast to trade with the Kanien'kehá:ka [“People of the flint” (Mohawks)] for the hard stones out of which knives and projectile points were made. Many of the well-worn footpaths of the Natives were later used by Colonists for carts, and eventually became the auto routes we use today.

There were two Sachems in Stockbridge [Pophnehonnuhwoh (Konkapot) and Sonkewenaukheek (Umpachenee)]. Konkapot had been the Sachem of an area that became part of Stockbridge, known as Wunnukktookoke [Enclosed by the arc of the river], which was centered on the prime agricultural land that now includes the Stockbridge Golf Club.

A note on the spelling of Algonkian words: Prior to Contact, the Natives did not have an alphabet. Although they used symbolic writing, they did not record the sounds of the language. Therefore, the spellings of the Native words you see in the Latin alphabet represent what was heard by English, Dutch, or French speakers, and you may see many different spellings of the same word.

Umpachenee had been the Sachem in a village to the south known as Skatekook [Branching of the river]. It is said that Umpachenee had a one-hundred-foot Longhouse on a hill just to the southwest of the place where that branching is found — now known as the confluence of the Green and Housatonic Rivers, very close to the Great Barrington/Sheffield town line on US Route 7.

The village of Skatekook was abandoned under the terms of the agreement that resulted in the formation in 1737 of the Indian Town that was to be incorporated as Stockbridge in 1739. The people of Skatekook moved north to join their fellow Mahicans in that new English township. Thus, there were two Sachems in Stockbridge.

I will have more to say about the alliance between the two men, as well as their differences, when we get to Stop 7, the property of Umpachenee.

Captain John Konkapot’s Property

Across the street from the Town Office building is the site of the 1750 allotment to Konkapot. The division of tribal land into personal property was one of the methods the English used to diminish the power of the Native people. The idea foreshadowed the Allotment Act of 1887, and was just as disastrous in its consequences.

As the walk’s brochure explained:

He [Konkapot] had the largest plot of land on Main Street, which speaks to his status. He also owned other plots of land in town.

A four-minute video featuring members of the tribe can be viewed here. It contains information and personal anecdotes that are not found in the brochure, and is well worth watching.

Stop Three

We will next move west on Main Street and pause across the street from the Stockbridge Library. The description of that stop can be viewed here.