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{{about|the Algonquian paramount chief}}{{Short description|Paramount chief of certain North American tribes}}{{see also|Weroance|Cacique}}{{redirect|Sagamaw|the Italian commune|Sagama}}File:Sachem Daniel Nimham (1920px x 1920px), border cropped.jpg|thumb|Statue of Daniel Nimham, a sachem of the WappingerWappingerSachems {{IPAc-en|'|s|ei|ch|@|m|z}} and sagamores {{IPAc-en|'|s|ae|g|@|m|ɔːr|z}} are paramount chiefs among the Algonquians or other Native American tribes of northeastern North America, including the Iroquois. The two words are anglicizations of cognate terms (c. 1622) from different Eastern Algonquian languages. Some sources indicate the sagamore was a lesser chief elected by a single band, while the sachem was the head or representative elected by a tribe or group of bands; others suggest the two terms were interchangeable.Life & Times: Squaw Sachem" {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081010144306weblink |date=2008-10-10 }}, Hawthorne in Salem, The Daily Times Chronicle, Winchester Edition (MA), December 1999, accessed 27 Jan 2010 The positions are elective, not hereditary.Kehoe, Alice. North American Indians, A Comprehensive Account. Third Edition. 2006 Although not strictly hereditary the title of Sachem is often passed through the equivalent of tanistry.

Etymology

The Oxford English Dictionary found a use from 1613. The term "Sagamore" appears in Noah Webster's first An American Dictionary of the English Language published in 1828, as well as the 1917 Webster's New International Dictionary.WEB,weblink Jeffrey Graf, "Sangamore of the Wabash" from Indiana University Libraries, Bloomington, One modern source explains:According to Captain John Smith, who explored New England in 1614, the Massachusett tribes called their kings "sachems" while the Penobscots (of present-day Maine) used the term "sagamos" (anglicized as "sagamore"). Conversely, Deputy Governor Thomas Dudley of Roxbury wrote in 1631 that the kings in the bay area were called sagamores, but were called sachems southward (in Plymouth). The two terms apparently came from the same root. Although "sagamore" has sometimes been defined by colonists and historians as a subordinate lord (or subordinate chiefBOOK, Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary, 1018, G. & C. Merriam Co, Springfield, Massachusetts, 1973, 0-87779-308-5, ), modern opinion is that "sachem" and "sagamore" are dialectical variations of the same word.Life & Times: Squaw Sachem" {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081010144306weblink |date=2008-10-10 }}, Hawthorne in Salem, The Daily Times Chronicle, Winchester Edition (MA), December 1999, accessed 27 Jan 2010">

Cognate words{|class"wikitable"

!Family!Language!Word!Notes

Eastern Algonquian| Proto-Eastern Algonquian| *sākimāw| theoretical reconstruction

Narragansett language>Narragansett| sâchim| anglicized as sachemGoddard, Ives (1978). "Eastern Algonquian languages", in "Northeast", ed. Bruce G. Trigger. Vol. 15 of Handbook of North American Indians, ed. William C. Sturtevant. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, pg. 75

Lenape language>Lenape| sakima	sakimawHTTP://WWW.TALK-LENAPE.ORG/DETAIL.PHP?ID=9092	WORK=LENAPE TALKING DICTIONARY	URL-STATUS=DEAD	ARCHIVE-DATE=2011-07-28,

Eastern Abnaki language>Eastern Abnaki| sakəma| anglicized as sagamore

Mi'kmaq language>Mi'kmaq| saqamaw|Ninigret

Malecite-Passamaquoddy language>Malecite-Passamaquoddy| sakom| Francis, David A., Sr. et al. Maliseet - Passamaquoddy Dictionary. Mi'kmaq - Maliseet Institute

Western Abnaki language>Western Abnaki| sôgmô		DATE=1884	URL=HTTPS://WWW.CANADIANA.CA/VIEW/OOCIHM.08895,

|Wangunk|sequin

	LAST=FOREST	DATE=1853	PAGES=54, en,

Central Algonquian| Proto-Central Algonquian| *okimāwa| theoretical reconstruction

Anishinaabe language>Anishinaabe| ogimaa| Nichols, John, and Earl Nyholm. (1995). A Concise Dictionary of Minnesota Ojibwe. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press

Algonquin language>Algonquin| ogimà| Mcgregor, Ernest. (1994). Algonquin Lexicon. Maniwaki, QC: Kitigan Zibi Education Council.

Ottawa language>Ottawa| gimaa| Rhodes, Richard A. (1985). Eastern Ojibwa-Chippewa-Ottawa Dictionary. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.

Potawatomi language>Potawatomi| wgema	Ogema (disambiguation)>Ogema

Swampy Cree language>Eastern Swampy Cree| okimâw|MacKenzie, Marguerite (editor). (c2007). Wasaho Ininîwimowin Dictionary (Fort Severn Cree). Kwayaciiwin Education Resource Centre.

Northern East Cree language>Northern East Cree| uchimaa|Bobbish-Salt, Luci et al. (2004–06). Northern EastCree Dictionary. Cree School Board.

Southern East Cree language>Southern East Cree| uchimaa|Neeposh, Ella et al. (2004–07). Southern EastCree Dictionary. Cree School Board.

Naskapi language>Naskapi| iiyuuchimaaw	Naskapi lexicon {{webarchive>url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080527201931weblink |date=2008-05-27 }}. Kawawachikamach, Quebec: Naskapi Development Corp.

Chiefs

{{see also|List of Native American leaders}}The "great chief" (Southern New England Algonquian: massasoit sachem) whose aid was such a boon to the Plymouth Colony—although his motives were complexBOOK, Mann, Charles C., 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus, Knopf Doubleday, Borsoi Book, 2005, 978-1-4000-4006-3,weblink —is remembered today as simply Massasoit.Note that this massa- element meaning "great" in the Massachusett language also appears in the name of the Massachusett (i.e. "Great Hills people") and subsequently in the name of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Another sachem, Mahomet Weyonomon of the Mohegan tribe, travelled to London in 1735, to petition King George II for fairer treatment of his people. He complained that their lands were becoming overrun by encroachment from white settlers. Other sachems included Uncas, Wonalancet, Madockawando, and Samoset.{{fact|date=June 2021}}

In popular culture

Literature

• James Fenimore Cooper featured a character called "The Sagamore" or Uncas in his novel The Last of the Mohicans, published in 1826.
• Moby Dick by Herman Melville (published in 1851), includes a passage: " [...] where the loose hairy fibres waved to and fro like the topknot on some old Pottowattamie Sachem's head".
• The 1838 poem "Sachem's-Wood"WEB,weblink The judgement. Sachem's-wood. Discourses: I. On the choice of an era in epic and tragic writing. II. On the relations of literature to a republican government. III. On the life and services of Lafayette. The hermit of Warkworth, by Bishop Percy, James Abraham, Hillhouse, 23 May 2018, C. Little and J. Brown, Google Books, by James Abraham Hillhouse (son of United States Senator James Hillhouse) describes the demise of the free sachem and his people.
• Rick, the protagonist of Simon Spurrier's novel, The Culled (2006, book 1 of The Afterblight Chronicles), belongs to the Haudenosaunee people and is guided through crises by the sachem. Another character, named Hiawatha, saves Rick's life and advises him the Tadodaho have said Rick and Hiawatha's courses are "aligned".BOOK, Spurrier, Simon, The Culled, Abaddon BooksThe Afterblight Chronicles, Abaddon Books, 2006, 9781849970136, 198,
• In the book "To Shape a Dragon's Breath" by Moniquill Blackgoose, the leader of the fictional Masquisit people is referred to as a "sachem".BOOK, Blackgoose, Moniquill,weblink To shape a dragon's breath, 2023, Del Rey, 978-0-593-49828-6, New York,

Comic books

• In the untitled story by Carl Barks in Walt Disney's Comics and Stories 206 (1957), Donald Duck gets into humorous mischief when his Uncle Scrooge McDuck assigns him to manage the "Sagmore Springs Hotel."

Journalism

• One of the oldest weekly newspapers in Canada is called The Grand River Sachem. It has been publishing since 1856 and is located in Caledonia, Ontario.NEWS,weblink Sachem About Us, The Hamilton Spectator,

Government and politics

• Theodore Roosevelt named his home near Oyster Bay, New York on Long Island, Sagamore Hill.
• "Sachem" was a title adopted by leaders of the Tammany societies, notably in Tammany Hall in New York City. The eponymous Tammany was a sachem of the Lenape. A fraternal society arose out of the Tammany societies which was named the Improved Order of Red Men, and to this day two of their national officers are known as the "Great Senior Sagamore" and the "Great Junior Sagamore".WEB,weblink The Improved Order of Red Men, www.redmen.org,
• In the 1940s, the legislature of Indiana created the honorary title of "Sagamore of the Wabash", analogous to Kentucky Colonel. In 1996, the government designated "Sachem of the Wabash" as a higher honor.PRESS RELEASE, Jankowski, Jane, Rateike, Brad, 13 March 2007, Governor presents Sachem to Jane Blaffer Owen, Indianapolis, Indiana, Office of Governor Mitch Daniels,weblink 14 June 2023,
• A street in Belfast, Northern Ireland is named Sagimor Gardens.WEB,weblink LA04/2018/1298/F &124; Two storey rear extension to dwelling to allow extended kitchen, dinning & utility areas, 1st floor master bedroom with en-suite. Side elevation window and door changes. &124; 38 Sagimor Gardens Belfast BT5 5LW, epicpublic.planningni.gov.uk,

Schools

• Sachem School District, on Long Island, one of the largest school districts on the island.
• Algonquin Regional High School, in Northborough, MA, named its art and poetry magazine Sachem after this Algonquian word.{{cn|date=May 2014}}
• Laconia High School, in Laconia, NH, refers to all of its athletic teams as the "Sachems".{{cn|date=May 2014}}
• Middleborough High School, in Middleboro, MA, refers to all of its athletic teams as the "Sachems".{{cn|date=May 2014}}
• Pentucket Regional High School, in West Newbury, MA, refers to all of its athletic teams as the "Sachems".
• Saugus High School, in Saugus, MA, refers to all of its athletic teams as the "Sachems".{{cn|date=December 2014}}
• Massapequa High School, in Massapequa, NY, named its annual student yearbook The Sachem.
• The Sachems, a secret society at Columbia University

Sports

• American-born Carrick Rangers striker Theodore Wilson is nicknamed Sachem.

References

{{Reflist|refs=BOOK BOOK WEB WEB }}{{Wiktionary|sachem|sagamore}}