Archive for November, 2010

Roger Williams

Sunday, November 28th, 2010

Roger Williams (circa 1603 – between January and March 1683) was an American Protestant theologian, and the first American proponent of religious freedom and the separation of church and state. In 1636, he began the colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, which provided a refuge for religious minorities. Williams started the First Baptist Church in America Providence before leaving to become a Seeker. He was a student of Indian languages and an advocate for fair dealings with Native Americans.

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The Wampanoag Language

Sunday, November 14th, 2010

The Wampanoag originally spoke a dialect of the Massachusett-Wampanoag language, which belongs to the Algonquian languages family. Currently English speaking, the Wampanoag are spearheading a language revival under the direction of the “Wampanoag Language Reclamation Project.”

The rapid decline of the Wampanoag language began after the American Revolution. At this time, New England Native American communities suffered from huge gender imbalances due to premature male deaths, especially due to military and maritime activity. Consequently, many Wampanoag women were forced to marry outside their linguistic groups, making it extremely difficult to maintain the various Wampanoag dialects.

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