Our Beloved Kin: A New History of King Philip's War - Introduction Notes
The Absence of Presence
In the spring of 1623, tensions were high in Wampanoag country as colonists and Indigenous peoples interacted, particularly in the context of illness and leadership transitions.
Edward Winslow and Hobbomock's entry into Mattapoisett coincided with Ousamequin's (Massasoit's) illness, prompting concerns about succession and potential conflict with the local sachem, Conbitant.
The Pocasset leader's readiness to defend his community highlights the underlying tensions and suspicions present at the time.
Rumors of Ousamequin's death and concerns about Conbitant's views of the English settlers added to the complexity of the situation.
Saunkskwa: More Than a Wife
Winslow's arrival in Mattapoisett led to an encounter with the Saunkskwa, Conbitant's wife, who extended hospitality despite past incidents and lingering suspicions.
The term "Squa-sachim" was a mistranslation; Saunkskwa actually meant female leader, indicating her significant role in the community.
The Saunkskwa's diplomatic response to Winslow's arrival underscores the complex dynamics between Native leaders and European newcomers, balancing suspicion with diplomacy.
The Saunkskwa hosted Winslow and his party, offering hospitality, food, and rest, and allowed Winslow to "hire" one of her runners to seek news from Ousamequin's status.
Indigenous Diplomacy and Experience
The Wabanaki leader Samoset's welcoming of the English in their own language reflected a long history of trade, cultural exchange, and conflict with Europeans.
Indigenous peoples had extensive experience with Europeans prior to the Plymouth settlement, including trade, captivity, and linguistic exchange.
The shift from extractive to settler colonialism marked a significant change in the relationship between Europeans and Indigenous peoples, characterized by a vision of displacement and replacement.
The Unnamed Leader
Winslow's account overlooks the significance of the Saunkskwa, a leader, wife, and mother who played a crucial role in Native networks of exchange and diplomacy.
Despite experiencing loss and hardship, she raised daughters, including Weetamoo, who became influential leaders in their own right.
The erasure of her name and contributions reflects a broader pattern of marginalizing Indigenous women in historical narratives.
Weetamoo's Emergence
Weetamoo, daughter of the unnamed Saunkskwa, rose to prominence as the saunkskwa of Pocasset after Conbitant's death, recognized by Ousamequin as his relation and “true heir”.
She strategically adapted to colonial structures to protect her land and forged alliances through marriage, including with Wamsutta and Metacom (King Philip).
Despite her significant role in King Philip's War, Weetamoo's contributions are often minimized or overlooked in historical accounts.
Recovering Indigenous Histories
The author's research began with a question about women leaders in King Philip's War and evolved into a decolonizing process of expanding historical strategies.
The author invites readers to engage with the untold stories of Native leaders and communities, acknowledging the unfamiliarity and potential discomfort it may evoke.
James Printer: A Nipmuc Scholar
James Printer, a Nipmuc scholar from Hassanamesit, played a crucial role in early American publishing history, working at the Harvard Indian College press.
He adapted to the challenges of war, serving as a scribe and negotiator for Native leaders, and later returned to the press, contributing to significant publications.
His story highlights the complexities of captivity and restoration experienced by both Indigenous peoples and settlers during King Philip's War.
Captivity and Absence
The narrative of Mary Rowlandson's captivity has overshadowed the experiences of bondage endured by Algonquian Indians during King Philip's War.
The captivity of English colonists among Indians pales in comparison to the abduction, imprisonment, and enslavement of Indians by the English.
James Printer's capture and imprisonment highlight the injustices faced by Native peoples during the conflict.
Intertwined Fates
James Printer and Mary Rowlandson's paths intersected at Menimesit, where Rowlandson was held captive and Printer's family sought sanctuary.
Weetamoo played a role in Rowlandson's captivity, leading her through Nipmuc and Wabanaki territories.
James Printer's work on Rowlandson's narrative helped preserve Weetamoo's story in the colonial record.
Reversing the Narrative of Absence
Histories of war often focus on male soldiers and leaders, neglecting the stories of women and scholars like Weetamoo and James Printer.
Drawing together their stories reveals the determination of Indigenous leaders and the compromises of Indigenous diplomats, challenging dominant narratives of absence and extinction.
The Vanishing Indian Narrative
American readers have often been drawn to the narrative of the "vanishing Indian," overlooking stories of Native adaptation and resilience.
Colonial ministers and magistrates sought to contain Indigenous resistance within narratives that justified their replacement.
A decolonial process might reverse that trend by resisting containment and opening possibilities for Native presence.
Episodic Structure
The book is organized episodically, offering scenarios, like the encounter between Winslow and Weetamoo's mother, and insights for contemplation and critical reflection.
Section breaks and subheads signal a pause in the narrative, offering an opportunity for deliberation.
Language: Naming War
Indigenous language is a crucial lens for viewing history anew, revealing layers of meaning and context that are often overlooked in traditional narratives.
A new generation of Hawaiian and Wôpanâak scholars is transforming our understanding of history through the study of language, place names, and understudied texts.
Insights into a single word can reveal layers of history which we cannot understand from documents alone.
King Philip's War: A Misnomer
The term "King Philip's War" is a later appellation that reflects a biased perspective, privileging the colonial narrative over Indigenous experiences.
Naming the conflict after Metacom (King Philip) implies a finality and containment that does not accurately reflect the ongoing Indigenous resistance.
Alternative Names and Perspectives
Early narratives of the war referred to it more broadly as "the Warr with the Indians in New-England" or "the Indian War," acknowledging it as part of a longer engagement.
The Mohegan leader Owaneco referred to the conflict as “the warres with the Generall Nations of Indians,” suggesting a series of wars waged by the English with a regional alliance of Native nations.
Native people would have named the conflict in their own languages, reflecting their understanding of the land and their relationship to it.
Ndakinna: Our Land
To Native people, this was not New England, but ndakinna (in Abenaki), "our land," a term that denotes kinship and belonging.
Wabanaki and Wampanoag tribal names reflect an originary embeddedness in this land and a responsibility to welcome the sun's emergence and return.
Native people would have acknowledged their families and places of origin, such as Hassanamesit or Pocasset, when introducing themselves.
Names for War and Peace
Native languages have multiple names for war, reflecting different aspects of conflict and engagement.
There is a distinction between being caught up in a conflict and actively waging war.
Native languages also have precise and complex terms for peace, highlighting the processes and places of peacemaking.
Reenvisioning Narrative Fields
The establishment of European colonies involved the planting of a narrative that marginalized Indigenous perspectives and experiences.
This book seeks to provide, reveal, and restore alternative "narrative fields" from the archive of colonial documents.
Allowing multifaceted "plants" to emerge into the "narrative field" requires different kinds of navigation and reading practices.
Reading in the Archive
The author's research focused on recovering the stories of James Printer and Weetamoo, extending historical vision to include the northern front, and reading narratives of the war anew.
New material was revealed by focusing closely on the lives of James, Weetamoo, their families, and those who traveled north.
Many instances where foundational narratives are either not supported or entirely contradicted by primary records from the precise time and place about which they were written.
Challenging Colonial Narratives
Histories of King Philip's War often rely on the veracity of narratives written by seventeenth-century colonial military and religious leaders.
The oft-cited, contradictory narratives of the death of Weetamoo's husband, the Wampanoag sachem Wamsutta, are undermined by the records of the Plymouth Court.
Land at the Center
Land stands at the center of colonial narratives, with claims to the land of New England portraying Indigenous people as interlopers.
Competing claims and responsibilities to the land often conflicted, leading to tensions and violence.
A More Complex Role for Weetamoo
Colonial narrators downplayed Weetamoo's role, while building a narrative of Indian treachery.
However, in the documents, she appears as a diplomat and leader who strategically manipulated and circumvented Plymouth's interests in her lands in order to protect them.
Manuscript Letters
Two overlooked manuscript letters concerning Weetamoo shed new light on the origins of King Philip's War.
The letters illuminate the context of the causes of war in striking ways, as well as the reluctance of later historians to acknowledge the importance of Weetamoo's leadership or the strategies Plymouth pursued in its invasion of Metacom's stronghold.
Reading Scenarios
In my research, I also focused on reading the primary sources closely for what was happening on the ground-interpreting actions against statements, reading depictions of geography, paying close attention to behavior, movements, and exchanges.
Influenced by Diana Taylor's The Archive and the Repertoire, and approaches from Native literary studies, I considered the “scenarios” contained within primary documents, reading people's actions in places of cultural
and ecological significance, through a culturally specific lens. In writing, I also sought to imaginatively reconstruct these “place-worlds."
Reading the Land as Archive
The land itself is an archive that demands interpretation, revealing stories and insights into historical documents.
Oral history, learned on the land and at the kitchen table, is essential for understanding Indigenous perspectives.
The Wampanoags and their neighbors swiftly and adeptly adopted reading and the culture of the book in the seventeenth century, making them a highly literate people.
Digital Space and Collaboration
The book's website features maps, images, and related documents that offer additional context and facilitate navigation.
Consultation and exchange regarding the interpretation of documents, places, actions, and motivations is an ongoing process.
Acknowledging the Stories of Our Ancestors
The author's family history, particularly the stories of her grandmother's experiences during World War II, influenced her approach to the research.
War is often a relentless storm that arrives without warning, disrupting lives and communities.
The author aims to strive for integrity in her research and interpretation, and pursue a relentless determination to document the strategies of survival.
The author challenges the traditional narrative of captivity during King Philip's War by highlighting that while the captivity of English colonists like Mary Rowlandson has been well-documented, the abduction, imprisonment, and enslavement of Indigenous peoples by the English have been largely overshadowed. The author emphasizes the injustices faced by Native peoples, such as James Printer, who also experienced captivity but whose stories are often marginalized in historical accounts.