The Potatuck were a

Native American Native Americans or Native American usually refers to Native Americans in the United States. Related terms and peoples include: Ethnic groups * Indigenous peoples of the Americas, the pre-Columbian peoples of North, South, and Central America ...

tribe in

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

. They were related to the

Paugussett The Golden Hill Paugussett is a State recognized tribes, state-recognized Native Americans in the United States, Native American tribe in Connecticut. Granted reservations in a number of towns in the 17th century, their land base was whittled away ...

people, historically located during and prior to the

colonial era Colonial period (a period in a country's history where it was subject to management by a colonial power) may refer to: Continents *European colonization of the Americas * Colonisation of Africa * Western imperialism in Asia Countries * Col ...

in western

. They lived in what is now Newtown (in

Fairfield County Fairfield County is the name of three counties in the United States: * Fairfield County, Connecticut * Fairfield County, Ohio * Fairfield County, South Carolina {{Geodis, uscounty ...

), Woodbury (in Litchfield County), and Southbury (in

New Haven County New Haven County is a county in the south central part of the U.S. state of Connecticut. As of the 2020 census, the population was 864,835, making it the third-most populous county in Connecticut. Two of the state's five largest cities, New Ha ...

), and along the whole

Housatonic River The Housatonic River ( ) is a river, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 in western Massachusetts and western Connecticut in the United ...

, including the

Schaghticoke tribe The Schaghticoke ( or ) are a Native American tribe of the Eastern Woodlands who historically consisted of Mahican, Potatuck, Weantinock, Tunxis, Podunk, and their descendants, peoples Indigenous to what is now New York, Connecticut, and Ma ...

. One of their last sites of habitation, Little Pootatuck Brook Archeological Site, is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. After losses due to epidemics and warfare, they merged in the early 18th century with other remnant Native American groups in the area, forming the

Name

The Potatuck have also been listed as Poodatook, Pootatook, Potatuck, Pudaduc, and Pudatuck in historical literature.

Subsistence

Like neighboring tribes such as the Paugusset, the Potatuck were a

farming Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

and

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

culture. The women cultivated varieties of their staple crops, such as corn, squash, and beans, as well as the tobacco valued for ritual use. They also gathered berries, nuts, and other natural resources. The men fished in freshwater much of the year, and hunted deer and small game. They may have traveled to the coast of

Long Island Sound Long Island Sound is a sound (geography), marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York (state), New York to the south. From west to east, ...

to fish from saltwater in summer months.

Post-encounter history

Many of the remnant Potatuck merged with survivors of the

Weantinock Wawyachtonoc (also rendered Wyachtonok, Wawayachtonoc, and Wyaghtonok) were an Algonquian-speaking Native American people indigenous to east central New York and northwest Connecticut. In 1687, the Wyachtonok, originally subgroup of Paugussett, ...

Mohegan The Mohegan are an Indigenous people originally based in what is now southeastern Connecticut in the United States. They are part of the Eastern Algonquian linguistic and cultural family and historically shared close ties with the neighboring ...

, and other

Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands include Native American tribes and First Nation bands residing in or originating from a cultural area encompassing the northeastern and Midwest United States and southeastern Canada. It is part ...

, after losses due to epidemics and warfare from European colonization pressures. They formed the

in western Connecticut and eastern New York. The Connecticut colony granted them a 2,500-acre reservation in 1736, with territory on both sides of the

. Through the 19th and early 2-th centuries, state-appointed agents sold off essentially all the land to the east, reducing the reservation to about 400 acres of territory on the west bank of the river.

Descendants

These descendants are part of the

Schaghticoke Tribal Nation The Schaghticoke Tribal Nation (STN) is a state-recognized tribe in Connecticut. STN is not a federally recognized American Indian tribe. STN is not to be confused with the splinter group Schaghticoke Indian Tribe (SIT), another state-recognized ...

, which recognized as a tribe by the state of Connecticut, but not federally recognized as a

Native American tribe In the United States, an American Indian tribe, Native American tribe, Alaska Native village, Indigenous tribe, or Tribal nation may be any current or historical Tribe (Native American)#Other uses, tribe, band, or nation of Native Americans in ...

by the US Department of the Interior. In 2011, the

was recognized by a state court as the governing authority and legitimate legal successor to the historic tribe.Gale Courey Toensing, "Schaghticoke Tribal Nation Seeks to Regain Rightful Status"
''Indian Country'', 31 May 2011, accessed 17 March 2013

References

{{authority control Native American history of Connecticut Native American tribes in Connecticut History of Fairfield County, Connecticut