Petition of Tunxis Indians to Connecticut General Assembly

To the Honored General Assembly now sitting in Hartford

 

The humble petition of the underwritten showeth that ourselves with some others and our predecessors, having the ancient right to the meadow and upland where the plantation of Farmington now is, being the Natives of that place, we are fully satisfied that some part of the said meadow was by our predecessors confirmed to the English to belong to the English but other parts of the said meadow as also the upland, to our knowledge, was never either given or sold to the English and is yet not withstanding parted amongst them and possessed by them. And we, the Natives, having often desired to have our land, or some good reason why they hold it from us, we can gain neither. And we, being now of small power and not willing otherwise to contend, do hereby desire the Honored Court to take our said aggrievance into their serious consideration and to determine it that in case the true right of the said lands do yet pertain to us that then we may not forcibly be kept out of our own. And, on the contrary, if the English have good title to the said lands, they have hereby an opportunity to clear it up and thereby to strengthen it. We have found it hard to have audience from many persons.  We desire we may be heard and determined by yourselves, which, if obtained, we shall have ground to believe that there is yet justice to be had from the English, which is all we desire.

 

Nesahegen, his mark              

Kipoquam, his mark   

James, his mark

Tabhow, his mark

Cherry, his mark                   

Quittamog, his mark

May 13, 1672 

 

           

River

 

This meadow the Indians say they never gave nor sold the English and yet the English hold it.

The piece of meadow was given by the Indians to the English and the English gave the Indians 9 coats, 1 ½ yard in each coat in token of their acceptance and thanks.

 

This piece the Indians yet hold.

 

All the meadow the Indians say they never gave nor sold the English which yet the English as the Indians say wrongfully keep from them.

 

 

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