Squaw Sachem of Mistick
Squaw Sachem of Mistick was a prominent leader of a Massachusett tribe who deeded large tracts of land in eastern Massachusetts to early colonial settlers.
Squaw Sachem was the widow of Nanepashemet, the Sachem of the Pawtucket Confederation of Indian tribes, who died in 1619. Her given name is unknown and she was known in official deeds as the "Squaw Sachem." Squaw Sachem ruled the Pawtucket Confederation lands aggressively and capably after Nanepashmet's death. Around 1635, along with several other Native Americans, she deeded land in Concord, Massachusetts to colonists, and by that time she had remarried to a tribal priest, Wompachowet at that time. In 1639 she deeded the land of what was then Cambridge and Watertown to the colonists, an area that covers much of what is now the Greater Boston area, including Newton, Arlington, Somerville, and Charlestown. She lived her last years on the west side of the Mystic Lakes near what is now Medford, Massachusetts, where she died sometime between 1650 and 1667. She is remembered on the Boston Women's Heritage Trail. Her sons, Wonohaquaham, Montowampate, and Wenepoykin were tribal leaders as well. Sometimes she is confused with other contemporary Squaw Sachems in the region, including Awashonks and Weetamoo.
