Sachem
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A sachem /ˈseɪtʃəm/ or sagamore /ˈsæɡəmɔːr/ is a term for the leaders of Algonquian polities along the northeastern coast of North America. The two words are anglicizations of cognate terms (c. 1622) from different Eastern Algonquian languages. Some sources indicate the sagamore was a lesser chief elected by a single band, while the sachem was the head or representative elected by a tribe or group of bands;[1][2] others suggest the two terms were interchangeable.[3] The sachem is an appointed or elected position and not strictly hereditary.[4] However, the choice of sachem is at least partly based on the prominence of the individual's family or kinship ties to the previous sachem.
Etymology
The Oxford English Dictionary found a use from 1613. The term "Sagamore" appears in Noah Webster's first An American Dictionary of the English Language published in 1828, as well as the 1917 Webster's New International Dictionary.[5]
One modern source explains:
According to Captain John Smith, who explored New England in 1614, the Massachusett tribes called their kings "sachems" while the Penobscots (of present-day Maine) used the term "sagamos" (anglicized as "sagamore"). Conversely, Deputy Governor Thomas Dudley of Roxbury wrote in 1631 that the kings in the Massachusetts Bay bay area were called sagamores, but were called sachems southward (in Plymouth). The two terms apparently came from the same root. Although "sagamore" has sometimes been defined by colonists and historians as a subordinate lord (or subordinate chief[6]), modern opinion is that "sachem" and "sagamore" are dialectical variations of the same word.[7]
Cognate words
| Family | Language | Word | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern Algonquian | Proto-Eastern Algonquian | *sākimāw | theoretical reconstruction |
| Narragansett | sâchim | anglicized as sachem[8] | |
| Lenape | sakima | derived from earlier form sakimaw[9] | |
| Eastern Abnaki | sakəma | anglicized as sagamore[8] | |
| Mi'kmaq | saqamaw | Ninigret | |
| Malecite-Passamaquoddy | sakom | [10] | |
| Western Abnaki | sôgmô | [11] | |
| Wangunk | sequin | [12] | |
| Central Algonquian | Proto-Central Algonquian | *okimāwa | theoretical reconstruction |
| Anishinaabe | ogimaa | [13] | |
| Algonquin | ogimà | [14] | |
| Ottawa | gimaa | [15] | |
| Potawatomi | wgema | anglicised as Ogema | |
| Eastern Swampy Cree | okimâw | [16] | |
| Northern East Cree | uchimaa | [17] | |
| Southern East Cree | uchimaa | [18] | |
| Naskapi | iiyuuchimaaw | [19] | |
| Miami-Illinois | akima | [20] |
Chiefs
Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote". The "great chief" (Southern New England Algonquian: massasoit sachem) whose aid was such a boon to the Plymouth Colony—although his motives were complex[21]—is remembered today as simply Massasoit.[22]
Another sachem, Mahomet Weyonomon of the Mohegan tribe, travelled to London in 1735, to petition King George II for fairer treatment of his people. He complained that their lands were becoming overrun by encroachment from white settlers.[citation needed] Other sachems included Awashonks, Weetamoo, Quaiapen, Uncas, Wonalancet, Askamaboo, Cheryll Toney Holley, Madockawando, Saunkskwa of Missitekw and Samoset.
In popular culture
Government and politics
- The leader of New York City's Tammany Hall was officially referred to as Sachem.[23]
- In the 1940s, the legislature of Indiana created the honorary title of "Sagamore of the Wabash", analogous to Kentucky Colonel. In 1996, the government designated "Sachem of the Wabash" as a higher honor.[24]
Schools
- Sachem School District, on Long Island, one of the largest school districts on the island.
- Algonquin Regional High School, in Northborough, MA, named its art and poetry magazine Sachem after this Algonquian word.[citation needed]
- Laconia High School, in Laconia, NH, refers to all of its athletic teams as the "Sachems".[citation needed]
- Middleborough High School, in Middleboro, MA, refers to all of its athletic teams as the "Sachems".[citation needed]
- Pentucket Regional High School, in West Newbury, MA, refers to all of its athletic teams as the "Sachems".
- Saugus High School, in Saugus, MA, refers to all of its athletic teams as the "Sachems".[citation needed]
- Massapequa High School, in Massapequa, NY, named its annual student yearbook The Sachem.
- The Sachems, a secret society at Columbia University
References
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- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."sachem". American Heritage Dictionary (4th ed.). Houghton Mifflin. 2000.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."sachem". Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Merriam-Webster Online. Retrieved 2009-11-09.
- ^ Life & Times: Squaw Sachem" Script error: No such module "webarchive"., Hawthorne in Salem, The Daily Times Chronicle, Winchester Edition (MA), December 1999, accessed 27 Jan 2010
- ^ Kehoe, Alice. North American Indians, A Comprehensive Account. Third Edition. 2006
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Jeffrey Graf, "Sangamore of the Wabash" from Indiana University Libraries, Bloomington" (PDF).
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary. Springfield, Massachusetts: G. & C. Merriam Co. 1973. p. 1018. ISBN 0-87779-308-5.
- ^ Life & Times: Squaw Sachem" Script error: No such module "webarchive"., Hawthorne in Salem, The Daily Times Chronicle, Winchester Edition (MA), December 1999, accessed 27 Jan 2010
- ^ a b Goddard, Ives (1978). "Eastern Algonquian languages", in "Northeast", ed. Bruce G. Trigger. Vol. 15 of Handbook of North American Indians, ed. William C. Sturtevant. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, pg. 75
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."sakima". Lenape Talking Dictionary. Archived from the original on 2011-07-28. Retrieved 2011-02-19.
- ^ Francis, David A., Sr. et al. Maliseet - Passamaquoddy Dictionary. Mi'kmaq - Maliseet Institute
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Laurent, Joseph (1884). New familiar Abenakis and English dialogues the first ever published on the grammatical system.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Forest, John William De (1853). History of the Indians of Connecticut from the Earliest Known Period to 1850. Archon Books. pp. 54.
- ^ Nichols, John, and Earl Nyholm. (1995). A Concise Dictionary of Minnesota Ojibwe. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press
- ^ Mcgregor, Ernest. (1994). Algonquin Lexicon. Maniwaki, QC: Kitigan Zibi Education Council.
- ^ Rhodes, Richard A. (1985). Eastern Ojibwa-Chippewa-Ottawa Dictionary. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
- ^ MacKenzie, Marguerite (editor). (c2007). Wasaho Ininîwimowin Dictionary (Fort Severn Cree). Kwayaciiwin Education Resource Centre.
- ^ Bobbish-Salt, Luci et al. (2004–06). Northern EastCree Dictionary. Cree School Board.
- ^ Neeposh, Ella et al. (2004–07). Southern EastCree Dictionary. Cree School Board.
- ^ MacKenzie, Marguerite and Bill Jancewicz. (1994). Naskapi lexicon Script error: No such module "webarchive".. Kawawachikamach, Quebec: Naskapi Development Corp.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."ILDA Dictionary". mc.miamioh.edu. Retrieved 2025-09-01.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Mann, Charles C. (2005). 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus. Borsoi Book. Knopf Doubleday. ISBN 978-1-4000-4006-3.
- ^ Note that this massa- element meaning "great" in the Massachusett language also appears in the name of the Massachusett (i.e. "Great Hills people") and subsequently in the name of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Sachems & Sinners: An Informal History of Tammany Hall". Time Magazine. August 22, 1955. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Jankowski, Jane; Rateike, Brad (13 March 2007). "Governor presents Sachem to Jane Blaffer Owen" (Press release). Indianapolis, Indiana: Office of Governor Mitch Daniels. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
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