Sachem

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

A sachem^[p] or sagamore is a paramount chief among the Algonquians or other northeast American tribes. The two words are anglicizations of cognate terms (c.1622) from different Eastern Algonquian languages. Some sources contend the sagamore was a lesser chief than the sachem.^{[1][2] [3][4]}

Etymology

One source explains:

According to Captain John Smith, who explored New England in 1614, the Massachusett tribes called their kings "sachems" while the Penobscots (of Maine) used the term "sagamos" (anglicized as "sagamore"). Conversely, Deputy Governor Thomas Dudley of Roxbury wrote in 1631 that the kings in the 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, modern opinion is that "sachem" and "sagamore" are dialectical variations of the same word.^[5]

Cognate words

Family	Language	Word	Notes
Eastern Algonquian	Proto-Eastern Algonquian	*sākimāw	Reconstructed original
	Lenape	sakima	derived from earlier form sakimaw[6]
	Narragansett	sâchim	anglicized as sachem[7]
	Eastern Abnaki	sakəma	anglicized as sagamore[7]
	Malecite-Passamaquoddy	sakom	[8]
	Western Abnaki	sôgmô	[9]
Central Algonquian	Proto-Central Algonquian	*hākimāw	Reconstructed original
	Anishinaabe	ogimaa	[10]
	Algonquin	ogimà	[11]
	Ottawa	gimaa	[12]
	Potawatomi	wgema	anglicised as Ogema
	Northern East Cree	uchimaa	[13]
	Southern East Cree	uchimaa	[14]
	Naskapi	iiyuuchimaaw	[15]

Chiefs

The "great chief" (Southern New England Algonquian: massasoit sachem) whose aid was such a boon to the Plymouth Colony is remembered today simply as Massasoit.^[16] 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 English settlers. Other sachem included Uncas, Wonalancet, Madockawando, and Samoset.

See also: List of Native American leaders

In popular culture

• James Fenimore Cooper featured a character called "The Sagamore" in his novel, The Last of the Mohicans.
• Algonquin Regional High School in Northborough, MA named their art and poetry magazine "Sachem" after this algonquin word.
• Theodore Roosevelt named his home near Oyster Bay, New York on Long Island, Sagamore Hill.
• "Sachem" was a title adopted by leaders of the Tammany societies, notably in Tammany Hall in New York City. The eponymous Tammany was a sachem of the Lenape.
• 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.^[17]
• One of the oldest weekly newspapers in Canada is called The Grand River Sachem. It has been publishing since 1856 and is located in Caledonia, ON.

References

    [p]   ^ The word "sachem" is pronounced either "Say-chuhm, Sah-".^[3]

1. ^ "sachem". American Heritage Dictionary (4th ed.). Houghton Mifflin. 2000. http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/sachem. 
2. ^ "sagamore". American Heritage Dictionary (4th ed.). Houghton Mifflin. 2000. http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/sagamore. 
3. ^ ^{a b} "sachem". Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Merriam-Webster Online. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sachem. Retrieved 2009-11-09. 
4. ^ "sagamore". Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Merriam-Webster Online. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sagamore. Retrieved 2009-11-09. 
5. ^ Life & Times: Squaw Sachem", Hawthorne in Salem, The Daily Times Chronicle, Winchester Edition (MA), December 1999, accessed 27 Jan 2010
6. ^ "sakima". Lenape Talking Dictionary. http://www.talk-lenape.org/detail.php?id=9092. Retrieved 2011/02/19. 
7. ^ ^{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
8. ^ Francis, David A., Sr. et al. Maliseet - Passamaquoddy Dictionary. Mi'kmaq - Maliseet Institute
9. ^ Laurent, Joseph (1884) New familiar Abenakis and English dialogues the first ever published on the grammatical system
10. ^ Nichols, John, and Earl Nyholm. (1995). A Concise Dictionary of Minnesota Ojibwe. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press
11. ^ Mcgregor, Ernest. (1994). Algonquin Lexicon. Maniwaki, QC: Kitigan Zibi Education Council.
12. ^ Rhodes, Richard A. (1985). Eastern Ojibwa-Chippewa-Ottawa Dictionary. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
13. ^ Bobbish-Salt, Luci et al. (2004–06). Northern EastCree Dictionary. Cree School Board.
14. ^ Neeposh, Ella et al. (2004–07). Southern EastCree Dictionary. Cree School Board.
15. ^ MacKenzie, Marguerite and Bill Jancewicz. (1994). Naskapi lexicon. Kawawachikamach, Quebec: Naskapi Development Corp.
16. ^ 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.
17. ^ Governor's press release announcing creation of the Sachem