Wawaus, also known as "James Printer", was an important

Nipmuc The Nipmuc or Nipmuck people are an Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands, who historically spoke an Eastern Algonquian languages, Eastern Algonquian language, probably the Loup language. Their historic territory Nippenet, meaning 'the f ...

leader from Hassanamesit (today

Grafton, Massachusetts Grafton is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 19,664 at the 2020 census. The town consists of the North Grafton, Grafton, and South Grafton geographic areas, each with a separate ZIP Code. Incorporated ...

), who experienced and observed the beginning of a wide range of genocide, from physical to biological to cultural, on his person, community, and livelihood. He is most commonly known for his work at the first printing press in the American colonies, yet like many Indigenous people during the 17th century in New England, was mistreated, abused, arrested, threatened, falsely imprisoned, and forced into exile on Deer Island in the Boston Harbor by the newly settled foreign imperialists. He helped produce the first Indian Bibles in 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 ...

(an

Algonquin language Algonquin (also spelled Algonkin; in Algonquin: or ) is either a distinct Algonquian languages, Algonquian language closely related to the Ojibwe language or a particularly divergent Ojibwe language dialects, Ojibwe dialect. It is spoken, alon ...

), which were used by English colonists in the cultural assimilation of Native Americans. He also set the type for books including the famous ''Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs.

Mary Rowlandson Mary Rowlandson, née White, later Mary Talcott (c. 1637January 5, 1711), was a colonial American woman who was captured by Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Native Americans in 1676 during King Philip's War and held for 11 weeks before being ...

''.

Early life

Little is known of Printer's early years. Printer was born at Hassanamesit near what is now Grafton, Massachusetts. He was the son of Naoas. Naoas was a convert of John Eliot and a leading member of the Christian Native church in Hassanamesit.

Education

Printer attended Harvard's

Indian College The Indian College (1640s-1693) was an institution of higher education established in the 1640s with the mission of training Native American students at Harvard College, in the town of Cambridge, in colonial Massachusetts. The Indian College' ...

beginning in 1659. He worked as an apprentice to Samuel Green at his printing press. Through his apprenticeship he became an accomplished typesetter and translator. He lived and worked among the English for nearly his entire life.

Printing career

Printer was the first Native American

printer's devil A printer's devil was a young apprentice in a printing establishment who performed a number of tasks, such as mixing tubs of ink and fetching type. Notable writers including Benjamin Franklin, Walt Whitman, Ambrose Bierce, Bret Harte, and Mar ...

in America. He played an instrumental role in the printing of John Eliot's Indian Bible, the first bible printed in America which was printed in the

. Printer helped to complete a thousand copies of the Indian Bible before the end of 1663. While other Native Americans helped Eliot in the creation of his Bible, Printer is said to have been Eliot's most accomplished interpreter who did more than any of the other interpreters to translate the Bible into the Massachusett dialect. Several scholars point out the bible was most likely composed by Native Americans and that Printer along with

Cockenoe 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 in New York where he was a member of the Mon ...

and

Job Nesuton Job Nesuton (died 1675) was a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Native American translator who translated large parts of the Eliot Indian Bible, the first Bible printed in America. Job Nesuton was a Massachusett people, Massachusett active in Joh ...

deserve at least equal credit for the production of Eliot's collection of publication in Native American languages. In addition to the Indian Bible, Printer helped to produce Indian Primers and two books of Psalms. He also typeset

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...

missionary works which publicized his and other Christian Native Americans' piety. Involved in the typesetting of the Cambridge editions of Mary Rowlandson's famous captivity narrative, '' A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson'', in which he appears as a minor character during Rowlandson's ransom negotiations. Printer worked as a typesetter for sixteen years before the outbreak of

King Philip's War King Philip's War (sometimes called the First Indian War, Metacom's War, Metacomet's War, Pometacomet's Rebellion, or Metacom's Rebellion) was an armed conflict in 1675–1678 between a group of indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodland ...

King Philip's War

Printer's major contribution to American literature came during King Philip's War while he worked as a scribe for King Philip also known as

Metacomet Metacomet (c. 1638 in Massachusetts – August 12, 1676), also known as Pometacom, Metacom, and by his adopted English name King Philip, During the war, Printer left Cambridge for Hassanamesit. At the outbreak of King Philip's War, Printer was falsely accused of participating in the Lancaster raid, a raid on Lancaster, Massachusetts. He narrowly escaped death after an English mob accused him. Following his escape, the town of Hassanamesit was confronted by Nipmucs from Menimesit. They carried an urgent message, asking the families at Hassanamesit to “go with them quietly” to Menimesit. They warned, if “you go to the English again” they would “force you all to some Island as the Natick Indians are, where you will be in danger and starved with cold and hunger, and most probably in the end be all sent out of the country for slaves.” Printer along with the other inhabitants chose to go with Metacomet's men. During his willing captivity, it is believed, Printer along with other Native American Christian captives came to sympathize with Metacomet's men. Printer is known for two letters he produced during King Philip's War. These letters were written from the Native Americans to the English. The first of the two notable letters was found tacked to a bridge post outside of the town of Medfield, Massachusetts in 1675. While the note was unsigned, several scholars attribute the note to James Printer. The note states that the English have provoked the Native Americans to war and that the Native Americans have nothing to lose in the fight but their lives while English may lose their property and possessions. This letter is notable due to its shrewdness to recognize that the loss of the colonists' private property would make them vulnerable. In addition the fact that the message was written in English was evidence that it could only have come from a Native American with extensive Christian education which showed the Englishmen's attempts to assimilate Native Americans was not wholly successful. The second letter is known to have been written by Printer during King Philip's War. This letter concerns the ransom for Mary Rowlandson, Mrs. John Kettell, and other colonists held captive by King Philip's men. This letter was part of the negotiation for the release of Rowlandson and her fellow captives. The letter can be read as an attempt by Printer to mend fences with the English. The letter is an extraordinary example of early Native American writing which shows Printer's writing skills. Ironically he later worked as the typesetter for Mary Rowlandson's narrative of her captivity ''The Sovereignty and Goodness of God'' published in 1682. After the war Printer was granted amnesty.

Later life

After King Philip's War, Printer returned to work as a printer in Cambridge. He later returned to Hassanamesit and taught there as a leader. Following the war Printer advocated for Nipmuck land holdings.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Printer, James 1640s births 1709 deaths American printers People from Worcester County, Massachusetts Native American people from Massachusetts Native American history of Massachusetts Translators of the Bible into indigenous languages of the Americas 17th-century translators