Land
The History of our Land
Our Nipmuck homeland was historically referred to as Nippenet, 'freshwater (pond) place,' because of the large number of small ponds and lakes in the area. Our homeland included the following areas:
- From Central Massachusetts northward past Wachusett Hills to about the southern line of New Hampshire
- Northeastward to the Pawtuckets on the lower Merrimack
- Eastward to Massachusetts Bay, and to the Wampanoags east of the Blackstone
- Southward to the northern Rhode Island bands of the Narragansett, and the Mohegans of east central Connecticut
- Westward to the Pocumtucks and Norwottucks of Western Massachusetts.
By Nikater; adapted to English by Hydrargyrum - Wikimedia Commons - Image:Wohngebiet_Südneuengland.png, as of 5 July 2006, CC BY-SA 3.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php
Our Reservation - Past and Present
Our Chaubunagungamaug ancestors were concentrated in an area between Lake Chaubunagungamaug and the Maanexit River, in the towns of Dudley, Southbridge, Webster, Charlton, Oxford, Sutton, and Douglas in southern Worcester County, Massachusetts and the town of Thompson in Windham County, Connecticut.
The principal village of our band was located north of the lake in what is now Webster. Our reserve lands were dwindled away and later surrounded by the town of Dudley. Our reservation lands were moved back to the area around the lake which was later split off and incorporated as the town of Webster, adjacent to the town of Thompson, Connecticut where our current reservation is located.
Pagan Nipmuck Reservation (1682 - 1869)
This stone marks the last parcel of reservation land once belonging to the Pegan band of Nipmuck Indians. We commemorate this land to the past, present and future Pegan Indians, who still endure on the land, in the wind and who live among us.
The New England Native American Institute - 2011
Nipmuck Indian Reservation - Chaubunagungamaug Clan
Our current reservation located in Thompson, CT spans 2.5 acres and serves as a cultural meeting place and is also used as a place for the reinterment of local Native American remains. Our tribal council is working with tribal citizens to transfer the ownership of the land to the CBNI council and is excited to begin planned improvements later this year.
We also continue to pursue other opportunities for land stewardship that will help to meet our tribal goals.