Wannalancet and the Pennacook Tribe

Pennacook early brief history:

• The Pennacooks were a Native American group that lived in what is now western Maine, northern Massachusetts and eastern Vermont.
• Recorded in the early part of the 17th century, as the Algonquians, part of a large indigenous group of languages spoken by them, they “grouped together under the general name of Pennacook, the name of a band and village around Concord, New Hampshire”.
• The name ‘Pennacook’, pronounced Pena-NUH-cook “means, ‘at the bottom of the hill”.
• The different Pennacook groups banded together at around the 17th century to form a confederacy with the Abenaki of Maine. This classified them as part of the Northeast Culture Area; part of a group that shared the same customs and lifestyles around northeast America and south east Canada..
• As a result, they were also sometimes classified with groups such as the Western Abenaki.Some local historical context/settlement was around the time that European settlers were migrating toward the Americas, where many wars such as King Philip’s War was happening during the time.

Wannalancet:

• Born around 1619 until his death in 1697, Wannalancet was the son of Passaconaway, chief of the Pennacook Federation. 
• During Wannalancet’s reign, he and his followers settled in Wamesit, which is present day Tewksbury, which was called East Chelmsford. Along the Merrimack River.
• He was very instrumental in helping the relationships between his people and the English settlers.