See also: Weroance and Cacique.
Sachems and sagamores 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.[1] The positions are elective, not hereditary.[2] Although not strictly hereditary the title of Sachem is often passed through the equivalent of tanistry.
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.[3]
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 Massachusetts Bay 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 chief[4]), modern opinion is that "sachem" and "sagamore" are dialectical variations of the same word.[5]
| Family | Language | Word | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern Algonquian | Proto-Eastern Algonquian |
| theoretical reconstruction |
| Narragansett | sâchim | anglicized as sachem[6] | |
| Lenape | sakima | derived from earlier form sakimaw[7] | |
| Eastern Abnaki | sakəma | anglicized as sagamore | |
| Mi'kmaq | saqamaw | Ninigret | |
| Malecite-Passamaquoddy | sakom | [8] | |
| Western Abnaki | sôgmô | [9] | |
| Wangunk | sequin | [10] | |
| Central Algonquian | Proto-Central Algonquian |
| theoretical reconstruction |
| Anishinaabe | ogimaa | [11] | |
| Algonquin | ogimà | [12] | |
| Ottawa | gimaa | [13] | |
| Potawatomi | wgema | anglicised as Ogema | |
| Eastern Swampy Cree | okimâw | [14] | |
| Northern East Cree | uchimaa | [15] | |
| Southern East Cree | uchimaa | [16] | |
| Naskapi | iiyuuchimaaw | [17] |
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 complex[18] —is remembered today as simply Massasoit.[19]
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.