Robin Cassacinamon (c.1620s-1692) was a

Pequot The Pequot ( ) are a Native Americans in the United States, Native American people of Connecticut. The modern Pequot are members of the federally recognized Mashantucket Pequot Tribe, four other state-recognized groups in Connecticut includin ...

Indian governor appointed by the

United Colonies The United Colonies of North-America was the official name as used by the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia for the newly formed proto-state comprising the Thirteen Colonies in 1775 and 1776, before and as independence was declared. ...

to govern Pequots in southeastern

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. ...

. The New England colonies placed Cassacinamon under the authority of colonial ally

Uncas Uncas () was a '' sachem'' of the Mohegans who made the Mohegans the leading regional Indian tribe in lower Connecticut, through his alliance with the New England colonists against other Indian tribes. Early life and family Uncas was born ...

of the

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 ...

tribe following 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 ...

of 1637. In 1638, Cassacinamon became a servant in the home of

John Winthrop John Winthrop (January 12, 1588 – March 26, 1649) was an English Puritan lawyer and a leading figure in the founding of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the second major settlement in New England following Plymouth Colony. Winthrop led the fir ...

in Boston where he learned English. He served as a translator, and he helped the Pequots to request to be under colonial authority rather than under Uncas. By the late 1640s Cassacinamon was with John Winthrop, Jr. in what is now New London. By 1655, the United Colonies appointed Cassacinamon to be governor of the Pequots in settlements at Nameaug (

New London, Connecticut New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the outlet of the Thames River (Connecticut), Thames River in New London County, Connecticut, which empties into Long Island Sound. The cit ...

) and Noank. Cassacinamon executed

Canonchet Canonchet (also ''Nauntenoo'' or ''Cononchet'' or ''Quanonchet'', died April 3, 1676) was a Narragansett Sachem and leader of Native American troops during the Great Swamp Fight and King Philip's War. He was a son of Miantonomo. Canonchet was ...

during

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 ...

, and the colonies commended his service during the war. He used his negotiation skills to secure the return of some tribal lands, resulting in the establishment of an approximately 3,000-acre reservation in 1665-1666. He remained sachem until his death in 1692. In the late 20th Century, the

Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation is a federally recognized American Indian tribe in the state of Connecticut. They are descended from the Pequot people, an Algonquian-language tribe that dominated the southern New England coastal areas, and ...

adopted Cassacinamon's

ligature Ligature may refer to: Language * Ligature (writing), a combination of two or more letters into a single symbol (typography and calligraphy) * Ligature (grammar), a morpheme that links two words Medicine * Ligature (medicine), a piece of suture us ...

as part of their tribal seal.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cassacinamon, Robin 1690s deaths Native American people from Connecticut 17th-century Native American leaders Pequot people People of the Pequot War Tribal chiefs People from colonial Connecticut