Sachem

This article is about the Algonquian paramount chief. For other uses, see Sachem (disambiguation).

See also: Weroance and Cacique

"Sagamaw" redirects here. For the Italian commune, see Sagama.

Sachems /ˈseɪtʃəmz/ and sagamores /ˈsæɡəmɔːrz/ are paramount chiefs among the Algonquians or other Native American tribes of northeastern North America, including the Iroquois. 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][3][4] others suggest the two terms were interchangeable.^[5] The positions are elective, not hereditary.^[6] Although not strictly hereditary the title of Sachem is often passed through the equivalent of tanistry.

Statue of Daniel Nimham, a sachem of the Wappinger.

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.^[7]

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^[8]), modern opinion is that "sachem" and "sagamore" are dialectical variations of the same word.^[9]

Cognate words

Family	Language	Word	Notes
Eastern Algonquian	Proto-Eastern Algonquian	*sākimāw	theoretical reconstruction
	Narragansett	sâchim	anglicized as sachem[10]
	Lenape	sakima	derived from earlier form sakimaw[11]
	Eastern Abnaki	sakəma	anglicized as sagamore[10]
	Mi'kmaq	saqamaw	Ninigret
	Malecite-Passamaquoddy	sakom	[12]
	Western Abnaki	sôgmô	[13]
	Wangunk	sequin	[14]
Central Algonquian	Proto-Central Algonquian	*okimāwa	theoretical reconstruction
	Anishinaabe	ogimaa	[15]
	Algonquin	ogimà	[16]
	Ottawa	gimaa	[17]
	Potawatomi	wgema	anglicised as Ogema
	Eastern Swampy Cree	okimâw	[18]
	Northern East Cree	uchimaa	[19]
	Southern East Cree	uchimaa	[20]
	Naskapi	iiyuuchimaaw	[21]

Chiefs

See also: List of Native American leaders

The "great chief" (Southern New England Algonquian: massasoit sachem) whose aid was such a boon to the Plymouth Colony—although his motives were complex^[22]—is remembered today as simply Massasoit.^[23]

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. Other sachems included Uncas, Wonalancet, Madockawando, and Samoset.^{[citation needed]}

In popular culture

Government and politics

• The leader of New York City's Tammany Hall was officially referred to as Sachem.^[24]
• 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.^[25]

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

1. "sachem". American Heritage Dictionary (4th ed.). Houghton Mifflin. 2000.
2. "sagamore". American Heritage Dictionary (4th ed.). Houghton Mifflin. 2000.
3. "sachem". Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Merriam-Webster Online. Retrieved 2009-11-09.
4. "sagamore". Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Merriam-Webster Online. Retrieved 2009-11-09.
5. Life & Times: Squaw Sachem" Archived 2008-10-10 at the Wayback Machine, Hawthorne in Salem, The Daily Times Chronicle, Winchester Edition (MA), December 1999, accessed 27 Jan 2010
6. Kehoe, Alice. North American Indians, A Comprehensive Account. Third Edition. 2006
7. "Jeffrey Graf, "Sangamore of the Wabash" from Indiana University Libraries, Bloomington" (PDF).
8. Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary. Springfield, Massachusetts: G. & C. Merriam Co. 1973. p. 1018. ISBN 0-87779-308-5.
9. Life & Times: Squaw Sachem" Archived 2008-10-10 at the Wayback Machine, Hawthorne in Salem, The Daily Times Chronicle, Winchester Edition (MA), December 1999, accessed 27 Jan 2010
10. 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
11. "sakima". Lenape Talking Dictionary. Archived from the original on 2011-07-28. Retrieved 2011-02-19.
12. Francis, David A., Sr. et al. Maliseet - Passamaquoddy Dictionary. Mi'kmaq - Maliseet Institute
13. Laurent, Joseph (1884). New familiar Abenakis and English dialogues the first ever published on the grammatical system.
14. Forest, John William De (1853). History of the Indians of Connecticut from the Earliest Known Period to 1850. Archon Books. pp. 54.
15. Nichols, John, and Earl Nyholm. (1995). A Concise Dictionary of Minnesota Ojibwe. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press
16. Mcgregor, Ernest. (1994). Algonquin Lexicon. Maniwaki, QC: Kitigan Zibi Education Council.
17. Rhodes, Richard A. (1985). Eastern Ojibwa-Chippewa-Ottawa Dictionary. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
18. MacKenzie, Marguerite (editor). (c2007). Wasaho Ininîwimowin Dictionary (Fort Severn Cree). Kwayaciiwin Education Resource Centre.
19. Bobbish-Salt, Luci et al. (2004–06). Northern EastCree Dictionary. Cree School Board.
20. Neeposh, Ella et al. (2004–07). Southern EastCree Dictionary. Cree School Board.
21. MacKenzie, Marguerite and Bill Jancewicz. (1994). Naskapi lexicon Archived 2008-05-27 at the Wayback Machine. Kawawachikamach, Quebec: Naskapi Development Corp.
22. Mann, Charles C. (2005). 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus. Borsoi Book. Knopf Doubleday. ISBN 978-1-4000-4006-3.
23. 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.
24. "Sachems & Sinners: An Informal History of Tammany Hall". Time Magazine. August 22, 1955. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
25. 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.