Info about Narragansett
Something about Narragansett culture and history
Rhode Island is the smallest American state, but it can offer you a great experience if you make some time to discover its’ beauties. There, on the west coast of the state, in the Washington County you can find a nice, old city called Narragansett. The name of the city comes from a translation of the Indian name meaning “people of the small point”. Right from its’ name you can deduct it’s a city with a long Indian history and what is great about it is the fact that Indian tribes are not gone. They were there right from the beginning of the history and they fought for their right to stay and have similar rights as the others.
Even if the history of the city starts only around 1901 when it is separated as an entity, the history of Narragansett goes back with centuries ago. We can say that the city’s history can be considered only a fragment of the long history of the Narragansett Indian tribes. Their history goes back in 17th centuries when the English people came and started to fight for the territories on the eastern coast of the American continent. What is great about this tribe if the fact they never gave up their land and lives and never surrendered in front of their enemies. They are the survivors of the history. Their story starts with their fight with the plague. In those times when many tribes simply disappeared because of the new diseases, this Narragansett tribe found the secret to survive. Then the story goes on with their fight with the invaders. Even if the Europeans, especially English people, thought they had the right to impose their laws, religion and life style, the Narragansett Indians said NO. They defended their territories even if this meant losing most of their people. They defended their culture and fought for their right to maintain their own lifestyle.
As part of their culture they had a central authority and other territories governed by eight hereditary sachems each subordinate to the grand sachem who were guarding over their people. They were mostly farmers cultivating corn, beans and squash, but they had developed also a kind of canoe that they were using for going fishing.
The history of Narragansett and their culture can be described by only a word: fighters. They fought and survived because they loved their land and they knew they won their right to be there and leave by the rules they received from their ancestors.