The Hammonasset people were a historical Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands whose territory was along the west bank of the Connecticut River to the Hammonasset River in Connecticut.
Language The Hammonasset spoke an Algonquian language.
Culture In their society, villages were organized by patrilineal clans with names appointed by animal totems. The indigenous people who settled in the area named it Hammonasset, which roughly translates to “where we dig the ground.”"Hammonasset State Park Serves the State and its Residents", Connecticut history.org.
Economy and subsistence They subsisted by fishing and hunting, and raised corn, beans, and squash."Hammonasset State Park", Connecticut State Parks The Hammonasset River was one of the few to have salmon runs.Lavin, Lucianne. Connecticut's Indigenous Peoples, Yale University Press, 2013, p. 111
History 17th century The first European colonists arrived in their territory area in 1638.
They were once a band of Quinnipiac people, who were recorded living near Guilford, Connecticut. Their leader was named Sebequnash, or "The Man Who Weeps."
In 1730, the band's population was 250 to 300 people. By 1774, they were reduced to only 38 people. They moved to Farmington, Connecticut, to live among the Tunxis in 1768.
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