Sachem
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Sachems 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.
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
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 (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
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,
]In popular culture
Literature
- James Fenimore Cooper featured a character called "The Sagamore" or Uncas in his novel The Last of the Mohicans, published in 1826.
- Moby Dick by Herman Melville(published in 1851), includes a passage: " [...] where the loose hairy fibres waved to and fro like the topknot on some old Pottowattamie Sachem's head".
- The 1838 poem "Sachem's-Wood"[24] by James Abraham Hillhouse (son of United States Senator James Hillhouse) describes the demise of the free sachem and his people.
- Rick, the protagonist of
- In the book "To Shape a Dragon's Breath" by Moniquill Blackgoose, the leader of the fictional Masquisit people is referred to as a "sachem".[26]
Comic books
- In the untitled story by Carl Barks in Walt Disney's Comics and Stories 206 (1957), Donald Duck gets into humorous mischief when his Uncle Scrooge McDuck assigns him to manage the "Sagmore Springs Hotel."
Journalism
- 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, Ontario.[27]
Government and politics
- 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. A fraternal society arose out of the Tammany societies which was named the Improved Order of Red Men, and to this day two of their national officers are known as the "Great Senior Sagamore" and the "Great Junior Sagamore".[28]
- In the 1940s, the legislature of Sagamore of the Wabash", analogous to Kentucky Colonel. In 1996, the government designated "Sachem of the Wabash" as a higher honor.[29]
- A street in Belfast, Northern Ireland is named Sagimor Gardens.[30]
Schools
- Sachem School District, on Long Island, one of the largest school districts on the island.
- Northborough, MA, named its art and poetry magazine Sachem after this Algonquian word.[citation needed]
- Laconia, NH, refers to all of its athletic teams as the "Sachems".[citation needed]
- Middleboro, MA, refers to all of its athletic teams as the "Sachems".[citation needed]
- West Newbury, MA, refers to all of its athletic teams as the "Sachems".
- Saugus, MA, refers to all of its athletic teams as the "Sachems".[citation needed]
- Massapequa, NY, named its annual student yearbook The Sachem.
- The Sachems, a secret society at Columbia University
Sports
- American-born Carrick Rangersstriker Theodore Wilson is nicknamed Sachem.
References
- American Heritage Dictionary(4th ed.). Houghton Mifflin. 2000.
- American Heritage Dictionary(4th ed.). Houghton Mifflin. 2000.
- ^ "sachem". Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Merriam-Webster Online. Retrieved 2009-11-09.
- ^ "sagamore". Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Merriam-Webster Online. Retrieved 2009-11-09.
- ^ 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
- ^ Kehoe, Alice. North American Indians, A Comprehensive Account. Third Edition. 2006
- ^ "Jeffrey Graf, "Sangamore of the Wabash" from Indiana University Libraries, Bloomington" (PDF).
- ISBN 0-87779-308-5.
- ^ 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
- ^ 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
- ^ "sakima". Lenape Talking Dictionary. Archived from the original on 2011-07-28. Retrieved 2011-02-19.
- ^ Francis, David A., Sr. et al. Maliseet - Passamaquoddy Dictionary. Mi'kmaq - Maliseet Institute
- ^ Laurent, Joseph (1884). New familiar Abenakis and English dialogues the first ever published on the grammatical system.
- ^ Forest, John William De (1853). History of the Indians of Connecticut from the Earliest Known Period to 1850. Archon Books. pp. 54.
- ^ Nichols, John, and Earl Nyholm. (1995). A Concise Dictionary of Minnesota Ojibwe. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press
- ^ Mcgregor, Ernest. (1994). Algonquin Lexicon. Maniwaki, QC: Kitigan Zibi Education Council.
- ^ Rhodes, Richard A. (1985). Eastern Ojibwa-Chippewa-Ottawa Dictionary. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
- ^ MacKenzie, Marguerite (editor). (c2007). Wasaho Ininîwimowin Dictionary (Fort Severn Cree). Kwayaciiwin Education Resource Centre.
- ^ Bobbish-Salt, Luci et al. (2004–06). Northern EastCree Dictionary. Cree School Board.
- ^ Neeposh, Ella et al. (2004–07). Southern EastCree Dictionary. Cree School Board.
- ^ MacKenzie, Marguerite and Bill Jancewicz. (1994). Naskapi lexicon Archived 2008-05-27 at the Wayback Machine. Kawawachikamach, Quebec: Naskapi Development Corp.
- ISBN 978-1-4000-4006-3.
- Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
- ^ Hillhouse, James Abraham (23 May 2018). "The judgement. Sachem's-wood. Discourses: I. On the choice of an era in epic and tragic writing. II. On the relations of literature to a republican government. III. On the life and services of Lafayette. The hermit of Warkworth, by Bishop Percy". C. Little and J. Brown – via Google Books.
- ISBN 9781849970136.
- ISBN 978-0-593-49828-6.
- ^ "Sachem About Us". The Hamilton Spectator.
- ^ "The Improved Order of Red Men". www.redmen.org.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "LA04/2018/1298/F | Two storey rear extension to dwelling to allow extended kitchen, dinning & utility areas, 1st floor master bedroom with en-suite. Side elevation window and door changes. | 38 Sagimor Gardens Belfast BT5 5LW". epicpublic.planningni.gov.uk.
