What is Nowashe? Who were the Nowaas?
When Dutch explorer Adriaen Block sailed up the Connecticut River in 1614, he encountered many Indigenous Peoples, including a palisaded fort and village in present-day South Windsor. He called the people who lived here the “Nowaas,” which might have been the Dutch equivalent of “Nowashe,” the Place-Name the tribal nation gave to their home. Nowashe means “place between rivers”, which was fitting as it was located along the Connecticut River and between the Scantic River to the north and the Podunk River to the south.
What about the Podunks?
According to The Memorial History of Hartford County, CT, the Podunk tribal nation lived in the area, but did not extend into South Windsor according to maps from the time. Other maps and written records do place the Podunk in South Windsor. It is likely that we will never know how far their land extended, if the Podunk were even in South Windsor at all, or if the Podunk and the Nowaas were one and the same. One theory is that several small groups (such as the Scantic, Nameroke, Hockanum and perhaps Nowaas) made up the group referred to as the Podunk. Other groups of Indigenous Peoples lived very close by, such as the Poquonnuc, Sicaog and Wangunk. You may have heard the term “River Tribes” in Connecticut, which refers to these Indigenous Peoples (and others) living along the Connecticut River. Generally, it is the Lifeways of these River Tribes in central Connecticut that we present in Nowashe Village.
What is the difference between the terms Native American, Indigenous Peoples and American Indian?
At Nowashe Village, you’ll find that while we try to primarily use the term “Indigenous Peoples,” we do use “Native American” as well. Indigenous means “originating or occurring naturally in a particular place; native.” Before Europeans colonized the New World, it was not called America; it was just a land that was home to many Indigenous Peoples and their tribal nations. What is important is understanding that using terminology like Indians, Natives, or Aborigines are now thought to be degrading and discriminatory. Using the term “American Indian” we feel can be confusing, as they can describe a different group of people. We hope your experience at Nowashe Village will teach you other appropriate terms when referring to the tribal nations of the central Connecticut River Valley.
What is that triangle symbol in your logo?
The object in place of the “A” in Nowashe in our logo is a Levanna projectile point. This point would have been made and used by Late Woodland (approx. 1300-600 years ago) Indigenous Peoples living in New England and the wider Northeast. The Levanna point was a common projectile point shaped like an equilateral triangle with a Concave base. These points were commonly made out of jasper, chert or quartz. The points could be used for a variety of purposes, most commonly as a weapon for hunting. The Levanna point in our logo was sketched by our Education Director from 2018-2023, Liz Glaviano.
How do you know so much about Native Americans?
The Wood is home to more than 20,000 Native American artifacts, most of which were archaeological “surface finds” in the flood-prone South Windsor Meadows, adjacent to the Connecticut River. There is documented evidence of the presence of Indigenous Peoples in this area. For decades the Friends of Wood Memorial Library & Museum has offered educational opportunities on the lifeways of Northeast Woodland Indigenous Peoples. In 2020, thanks to a large grant from the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) and other matching funds, we finished construction on a 3/4 acre Native American Village on the wooded land directly behind the Wood Memorial Library. The Village includes two wigwams and a Sachem’s House, a Three Sisters Garden, community fire, trails lined with Indigenous plants, and much more. Some of the backgrounds, images and footage seen in our documentary-style Virtual Field Trips are actually of Nowashe Village or our Artifact collections.