Archaeology Magazine - July/August 1991 - 37

from a new gambling casino will be usedfor the same purposes.
the coastal villages where English and Dutch came to
trade for beaver pelts, and, most important, the production of wampum - the beadlike clamshell currency essential for commercial exchange along the Atlantic coast.
By 1637, the Pequots had become a tempting target
for the European colonists. The Dutch, the English, and
Governor John Winthrop in Boston all conspired to take
the Pequots' land, furs, and wampum for themselves. It
was done with quick and bloody efficiency. In May 1637,
a force of Connecticut volunteers invaded the Pequot
territory; set fire to the main villages; killed hundreds of
Pequot warriors, women, and children; drove most of
the survivors from their tribal territory; and proudly
claimed the severed head of the supreme Pequot sachem,
Sassacus, as a trophy of war.
In the wake of that campaign, the traditional culture
of the Pequot survivors was gradually destroyed. Granted
500 acres along the western bank of the Mystic River
in 1651, they were forced to move inland when the resources of their tiny coastal preserve were quickly exhausted. In 1667, the General Court of Connecticut
granted them 3,000 acres of forest and swamp at a place
called "Mashantucket." By the early eighteenth century,
however, English settlers clearing the surrounding forests for farmland renewed pressure on the tribe. By 1761,
only 989 of the original 3,000 acres remained in the
hands of the tribe. Tribal members began to intermarry
with the local population, while young Pequot men were
forced to seek work on farms, in mills, and in the crews
of New London whaling ships.
Yet despite forced exile and the destruction of their
traditional culture, the Pequot people survived. Scat-

tered here and there throughout New England, Pequot
descendants remembered the old traditions and taught
their children about their heritage.
By 1973, only two elderly Pequot women were living
on the reservation - now reduced to only 213 acres. Richard Hayward, a member of the Pequot tribe, became
Tribal Chairman in 1975 and began a long legal struggle
that in 1983 resulted in federal recognition of Pequot
sovereignty and a substantial reparations payment. Since
that time, more than 150 tribal members have returned
to the reservation to take advantage of new community
housing and social services. And with revenues from
their various business enterprises, among which legalized gambling is the most profitable, the Pequots have
bought back more than 1,500 acres of their lost land.
Crucial to gaining legal recognition was Hay ward's
convincing presentation of official records, land deeds,
and proclamations that detailed the betrayal of the
Pequots' legal rights by the colony and, later, by the State
of Connecticut. Hayward soon recognized the potential
value of archaeology to the land claims. While colonial
documents tended to minimize the Pequots' presence, archaeological collections of Pequot artifacts all over Connecticut showed how extensive the Pequot presence was.
Archaeology also seemed the best way for the Mashantucket Pequot community to fill in the gaps of their history, to bring the tribe's traditions to life. Theresa Bell
recalls how, as a child, she had learned Pequot traditions
and history from her grandmother, Elizabeth George.
"Later," Bell admits, "I came to understand that over the
years, through all the times of oppression, some parts of
our tradition had been lost." Within a year of federal
recognition, the Mashantucket Pequots' ambitious archaeological project was born.

Pequot children posefor a picture; since 1983 more than 150
tribal membershave returned to the reservation.
Many of the missing pieces of Pequot traditions have
since emerged from studies of the archaeological finds.
Since 1983, Kevin McBride has been conducting a longterm archaeological survey of ancient Pequot territory
under the auspices of the Tribal Council. After conducting an archaeological survey of the former coastal lands
of the Pequots - and convincingly identifying the remains of the main Pequot village burned by the Puritans
July/August1991 37

Archaeology Magazine - July/August 1991

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Archaeology Magazine - July/August 1991