Cockenoe (also known as Cockeno, Cockenow, Chachaneu, Cheekanoo, Cockenoe, Chickino, Chekkonnow, Cockoo) (born before 1630 and died after 1687) was an early Native American translator from

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

in New York where he was a member of the

Montaukett The Montaukett (" Metoac"), more commonly known as Montauk, are an Algonquian-speaking Native American people from the eastern and central sections of Long Island, New York, United States. Name The exact meaning of the name Montauk is unkn ...

. He helped to translate the earliest parts of the Eliot Indian Bible, the first Bible published in America. In 1637 Cockenoe was captured during the

Pequot War The Pequot War was an armed conflict that took place in 1636 and ended in 1638 in New England, between the Pequot nation and an alliance of the colonists from the Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, and Saybrook colonies and their allies from the Na ...

by a Massachusetts militia unit. After being captured and brought back to Massachusetts, Cockenoe became a servant to Richard Callicot, a fur trader, in

Dorchester, Massachusetts Dorchester () is a Neighborhoods in Boston, neighborhood comprising more than in the city of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Originally, Dorchester was a separate town, founded by Puritans who emigrated in 1630 from Dorchester, Dorset, E ...

. John Sassamon, a prominent Native American translator, also grew up as a servant in Callicot's household in Dorchester. Similarly, Cockenoe became an early American translator and interpreter, and one of the first people who mastered English and several

Algonquian languages The Algonquian languages ( ; also Algonkian) are a family of Indigenous languages of the Americas and most of the languages in the Algic language family are included in the group. The name of the Algonquian language family is distinguished from ...

, including the

Massachusett language The Massachusett language is an Algonquian languages, Algonquian language of the Algic languages, Algic language family that was formerly spoken by several peoples of eastern coastal and southeastern Massachusetts. In its revived form, it is s ...

. Cockenoe helped translate the Eliot Indian Bible, the first Bible printed in America. John Eliot stated that Cockenoe assisted Eliot in translating "the Commandments, the Lords Prayer, and many Texts of Scripture: also I compiled both exhortations and prayers by his help." At some point between 1646 and 1649, shortly after Eliot began preaching, Cockenoe returned to the Long Island area where he served as an interpreter for many land transactions between local tribes and colonists. In 1667 he married "“Sunksquaw” of the Shinnecock; "a female Sachem, the sister of Nowedonah" or possibly " Wyandanch." Cockenoe died after 1687 when his name last appears in the records in a Montauk deed. There is currently a Cockenoe Island (pronounced "kuh-KEE-nee") near the Connecticut shore in the Norwalk Islands of Long Island Sound named after him.

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