The name Tankiteke is translated as "those of slight stature" by the natives and referred to their position in the council of chiefs, not their height

Language Spoken

Algonquin

Connecticut Village Locations

New Canaan, Norwalk, Ridgefield and Stamford

Population

It has been estimated that at the time of European settlement there might have been about 15,000 total in approximately 80 settlement sites around much of southern New England.

Culture

They practiced large-scale agriculture to augment a mobile hunter-gatherer society. They were largely a sedentary people who occupied campsites seasonally, resulting in relatively easy access to the small game that inhabited the region: fish, birds, shellfish and deer They developed sophisticated techniques of hunting and managing their resources. By the arrival of Europeans, they were cultivating fields of vegetation through the slash and burn technique, which extended the productive life of planted fields. They also harvested vast quantities of fish and shellfish from the bays of the area; clams were harvested year-round. The success of these methods allowed the tribe to maintain a larger population than nomadic hunter-gatherers were able to support

History

The steady influx of Dutch settlers into the area during the mid 1600's resulted in the 1643 Kieft's War. Pacham, a Tankiteke Chief was responsible for stirring up the tribes against the Dutch. Finally, a peace was concluded by Mahican Chief Eskuyas and the enraged Chief Pacham was given over to the Dutch. In 1655, Ponus, a Tankiteke chief, sold Rippowam (now Stamford) to Norwalk settlers. Later, over a period from 1680-1740, Chief Catoonah sold other sections of Stamford, New Canaan, Ridgefield and the oblong (Vista, New York) to white settlers. Small pox and the white intrusion slowly did away with the proud Tankiteke tribe and by the time of the American Revolution they were gone.