Neponset_River_Reservation_1_Dorchester_Massachusetts

Cutshamekin (died in 1654) (also spelled Kitchamakin, Kuchamakin, or Cutshumaquin) was a Native American leader, who was a

sachem Sachems and sagamores 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 ...

of the

Massachusett The Massachusett were a Native American tribe from the region in and around present-day Greater Boston in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name comes from the Massachusett language term for "At the Great Hill," referring to the Blue Hills ...

tribe based along the Neponset River and Great Blue Hill in what is now Dorchester, Massachusetts and Milton, Massachusetts before becoming one of the first leaders of the

praying Indian Praying Indian is a 17th-century term referring to Native Americans of New England, New York, Ontario, and Quebec who converted to Christianity either voluntarily or involuntarily. Many groups are referred to by the term, but it is more commonly u ...

town of

Natick, Massachusetts Natick ( ) is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is near the center of the MetroWest region of Massachusetts, with a population of 37,006 at the 2020 census. west of Boston, Natick is part of the Greater Boston area. ...

. He is the possible namesake of

Jamaica Plain Jamaica Plain is a neighborhood of in the City of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Settled by Puritans seeking farmland to the south, it was originally part of the former Town of Roxbury, now also a part of the City of Boston. The commu ...

. Cutshamekin was the brother of sachems

Chickatawbut Chickatawbut (died 1633; also known as Cicatabut and possibly as Oktabiest before 1622) was the sachem, or leader, of a large group of indigenous people known as the Massachusett tribe in what is now eastern Massachusetts, United States, during th ...

and Obtakiest who both died in 1633 during a

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) ce ...

outbreak which decimated many of the Native Americans in the area. In the 1630s, Cutshamekin sold much of the tribal land that he controlled around the Neponset River, including deeding what is now Milton, Massachusetts to

Richard Callicott Richard Callicott (1604–1686) (also spelled "Collacott," "Collicot", "Calicot", "Collacot") was a New England colonist who was a fur trader, land investor, and early leader of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He also had two Indian servants who bec ...

, with the exception of 40 acres reserved near the Neponset River near

Dorchester Mills The Dorchester-Milton Lower Mills Industrial District is a historic district on both sides of the Neponset River in the Dorchester area of Boston and in the town of Milton, Massachusetts. It encompasses an industrial factory complex, most of wh ...

including what is now Dorchester Park and the Ventura Playground in the Neponset River Reservation. By selling much of the tribe's land, Cutshamekin isolated many of his followers. In 1643/44 Cutshamekin agreed that he and four other sachems from as far away as Mount Wachusett would sign a formal treaty with Governor

John Winthrop John Winthrop (January 12, 1587/88 – March 26, 1649) was an English Puritan lawyer and one of the leading figures in founding the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the second major settlement in New England following Plymouth Colony. Winthrop led ...

submitting to the

Massachusetts Bay Colony The Massachusetts Bay Colony (1630–1691), more formally the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, was an English settlement on the east coast of North America around the Massachusetts Bay, the northernmost of the several colonies later reorganized as the ...

's authority in return for defense from their enemies. In 1646 the missionary John Eliot preached his first missionary sermon to Cutshamekin and his followers at their

wigwam A wigwam, wickiup, wetu (Wampanoag), or wiigiwaam (Ojibwe, in syllabics: ) is a semi-permanent domed dwelling formerly used by certain Native American tribes and First Nations people and still used for ceremonial events. The term ''wickiup' ...

near Israel Stoughton's grist mill and

's trading post near what is now Dorchester, Lower Mills. Eliot's first sermon was not positively received by Cutshamekin and his followers, but Eliot continued to meet with Cutshamekin and his followers every other week with some success. In 1647 Cutshamekin's son was accused of drunkenness in Nonantum and he accused his father of the same, but both publicly repented. By 1651 Cutshamekin had joined the Praying Indians at

as their leader, but had some issues with the smaller tributes paid by the Praying Indians. Cutshamekin died in 1654 and was buried on his remaining 40 acres of land in Dorchester "in a ceremony fitting a sachem: on tree branches around his mound grave were draped his wealth of furs." After Cutshamekin's death in 1654, he was succeeded by his nephew, Josias Wampatuck, who Cutshamekin had helped raise. Some historians theorize that "Jamaica Plain" was named after Cutshamekin and that "Jamaica", though a different letter "A" pronunciation, is an

Anglicization Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influenc ...

of the name of Kuchamakin, who was regent for the young Chickatawbut, sachem (chief) of the

tribe.Jamaica Plain Historical Society - 'Colonial Era' Editor - - Native Americans in Jamaica Plain
/ref>

References

Native American people from Massachusetts Native American leaders 17th-century Native Americans Massachusett people Native American history of Massachusetts Jamaica Plain, Boston 1654 deaths {{NorthAm-native-bio-stub