Quinnipiac Native Oystering
Standing
on the fading grass, looking out at the sea of graves and headstones in the Old
Cemetery of East Haven, one encounters a deep divot in the land. The hollowed
area spans wide and is barren of most graves, despite being located next to the
cemetery. What meets the eye is a simple basin, but the history behind the
geographical feature reveals a dwelling of Connecticut’s Quinnipiac Natives.
Ezra
Stiles and his friend, Reverend Nicholas Street, explored the area in October
1761 where they had encountered the remains of a Quinnipiac fort used for
defense against Mohegan and Mohawk peoples; they estimated the fort existed
until the late Sixteenth or early Seventeenth Centuries. There is a forty-foot rectangular depression
where the fort once stood, and the spring-fed pond that was once its water
supply was drained in 1895 for cemetery renovations—the hollow of the pond can
still be seen today and is referred to as the “Indian bowl.” Stiles’ drawn map
shows a pond northeast of the fort with many oyster shells, a brook southeast
of the fort with a spring source, and a river with notes indicating good
oystering.
With
rivers, ponds, and springs all surrounding the fort, it is clear that water was
essential to the lives of the Quinnipiac. Aptly so, their Native tribe’s name,
“Quinnipiac” means “people of the long water land” in Quiripy. Quinnipiac have
lived along the Quinnipiac River for thousands of years with Quinnipiac Country
spanning over three hundred square miles throughout West Haven, Woodbridge, and
Madison. The native people often used bodies of water as territory
markers—Quinnipiac territory was defined by Long Island Sound and the Oyster
River. Setting up camp on all sides of the harbor, the Quinnipiac sourced much
of their food—shellfish, crabs, lobsters, hake, pilchard—from the harbor with
bone and wood hooks, spears, nets, and manmade weirs. The Quinnipiac were known
to migrate during the seasons, most likely living by the shore during summers
and the forests during winters, but their migration patterns were interrupted
by English settlements and laws. This fits the general pattern of Southern
Connecticut Algonquins, who harvested crops, gathered fruits, and did their
coastal fishing during the summers and then moved inland during the winter to
occasionally hunt and fish.
The
prehistory of the Quinnipiac River Valley remains largely unknown due to a lack
of thorough archaeological surveys of the region and the state of Connecticut’s
soil, which is largely acidic and has been intensively cultivated. Early
collectors of indigenous artifacts did not use scientific methods or catalog
their findings, so a lot of information was lost. Fear not, information is
still known and is still being discovered about the Quinnipiac, and most of it
comes from the New Haven area. Lyent W. Russel directed a large excavation from
1970-1976 at the Burwell- Karako which yielded 273,411 artifacts from the
Middle Archaic (6000-4000 B.C.) and the Woodland (1000 B.C. – 1500 A.D.)
periods, showing that the Quinnipiac people lived there for longer than
archaeologists had originally thought.
According to oral histories and
archaeological evidence, native peoples have been eating oysters, specifically
the Eastern oyster (Crassostrea Virginica) in their diet for thousands
of years. Oysters thrive in low salinity and are found where the ocean salt and
the freshwater mix, which is typically at the mouths of rivers. Oysters were
able to prosper and flourish in the waters surrounding the Quinnipiac because
of the fresh river water and the salt water of the Sound. Archaeologists have
found heaps and piles of eaten oyster shells, referred to as “middens.” Oysters
are still found near the former Native settlements, especially along the
Quinnipiac River. In fact, modern-day Wooster Square was once known as Oyster
Shell Field and was rich with mollusks and shells that the Quinnipiac had
discarded. Oysters were an important part of their diet, as they provided
protein, salt, and minerals. Oysters were a trifecta of convivence—they were
nutritious, easy to harvest, and versatile in dishes. They could be gathered by
hand and transported easily due to their tough shells; they could be eaten raw,
smoked, dried, or put in succotash and stews; and their empty shells could be
used as a scooping or carving tool for ‘mishoons,” or canoes (Naumec, 2017).
Natives
have an extensive history that predates European contact and were known to
gather oysters and catch shellfish up until and throughout the period of
America’s Early Republic. Consequentially, access to and the use of oyster beds
became a contentious point among Natives and colonists. Originally, the
Quinnipiac showed the English how to harvest shellfish and clams with
brushwires, traps, and their feet, but subsequently the use of the beds became
a point of negotiation. Colonists promised the Quinnipiacs would have access to
the beds, but the colonists did not usually keep their word. Oysters became a
continued point of contention when European colonists’ pigs were sent to live
on the coast and damaged oyster and clam beds.
History
is entrenched in the land around us, with stories just waiting to be told.
Sleeping Giant, a popular hiking spot, has its own legend. Hobbomock, a giant
who helped the Quinnipiac care for the land, water, and animals, quickly became
upset when the people forgot his lessons in his absence. The giant punished the
people for not being able to communicate with the animals and not caring for
the land. One day, a wise man fed Hobbomock many oysters in addition to casting
a sleeping spell on him to stop the punishment. The giant fell, becoming the
large rock widge we know today; however, legend has it that Hobbomock will one
day reawaken.
Oftentimes,
American history begins with colonization; however, it is important to
acknowledge, teach, and preserve as much Native history as possible. There were
people in America, in Connecticut, and in New Haven specifically, long before
the Europeans had arrived. Information on the Quinnipiac and other natives
peoples is sometimes difficult to find, but people should keep pushing to learn
about their practices and culture, especially when it happened right in our
backyard.
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| Figure 1: Map of Quinnipiac Fort drawn by Ezra Stiles, 1761 (Courtesy of Yale University) |
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| Figure 2: Oyster shells (Courtesy of Connecticut Explored Magazine) |
Bibliography
Carney, James George. The Quinnipiac Indians of the
New Haven Area, 1960.
“East Haven Quinnipiac Fort.” Ed, January 18, 2019.
https://campuspress.yale.edu/yipp/this-week-in-new-england-native-documentary-history-9/.
Menta, John P. Cultural Conflict in Southern New
England: A History of the Quinnipiac Indians, 1994.
Naumec, David J. “Native American Oystering .” Connecticut
Explored 15, 2017. https://www.ctexplored.org/native-american-oystering/.
Sandi Kahn Shelton, Register Staff. “The Sleeping Giant Has
a Name: Hobbomock, and Guilford Author Has New Illustrated Book about Him
(Video).” New Haven Register. New Haven Register, August 17, 2017.
https://www.nhregister.com/news/article/The-Sleeping-Giant-has-a-name-Hobbomock-and-11556296.php#taboola-2.
Stiles, Ezra. Description of Indian Fort. Map.
East Haven: Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, From Yale University. https://connecticuthistory.org/wpcontent/uploads/sites/6/2019/03/East-Haven-Fort.png 10/25/21
Stiles, Ezra. Map of Killingworth and Guilford.
Map. Connecticut: Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, From Yale
University.
https://connecticuthistory.org/wp- content/uploads/sites/6/2019/03/Map-of-Killingworth.png 10/25/21
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