11 - ‘Teâgun kuttiemaûnch: What Food Shall I Prepare for You?’: Exchanges in Early New England Kitchens

Summary

Abstract

Seventeenth century New England was home to a critical mass of both English and Indigenous bilinguals, which reveals that these neighbours lived in intimate proximity to one another for decades and spoke each other's languages in ways that directed the politics, trade, and cultural development of the region. These bilinguals included the more familiar figures of adult men involved in trading, colonial politics, and missionary work, but a closer look reveals these bilinguals also included English and Indigenous women and children. Cooking, both the process and physical space of the kitchen, was a vital part of their language acquisition. Peering into the kitchen offers a rare glimpse into the regular interactions between English and Indigenous men, women, and children on New England's borderlands.

Keywords: New England history, early American history, borderland studies, women's history, captivity, language acquisition, enslaved labour

It was the spring of 1653 and Grace Minor must have been tired as she made the roughly thirty-mile trek southward along the western side of Narragansett Bay. She was headed toward home, a community now known as Stonington, Connecticut, but which was then commonly known by its Indigenous name of Pawcatuck. Though the Minors were one of the few families in her southern New England community that owned horses, Grace and her husband had travelled on foot, all the while carrying their newborn son Samuel. Grace was just shy of her fortieth birthday and this child, her tenth, proved her last. At some point in their journey a Niantic Indian messenger intercepted them. Grace and her husband Thomas listened carefully to the man's invitation to accompany him to the home of the Niantic sachem (or leader), Ninigret. Given the sachem's influence in the region, Grace and Thomas knew this invitation was less a request than a command.

After the Minors had arrived, settled, and accepted refreshments from Ninigret's family, the couple listened carefully as the sachem laid out a series of complaints for them to convey to English officials. In the letter Thomas wrote about the meeting, he referenced Grace's participation repeatedly.