Pequot
 Mashantucket Pequot Museum exhibit showing Mashantucket warrior | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 1620: 16,000 (est.) 1637: 3,000 (est.) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Eastern Pequot Tribal Nation, Lantern Hill, North Stonington, Connecticut: 1,130 Mashantucket Pequot Tribe or Western Pequot, Ledyard, Connecticut: 350 | |
| Languages | |
| Historically Pequot, a dialect of the Mohegan-Pequot language (an Algonquian language), now English | |
| Religion | |
| Native American religion, Christianity | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Mohegan |
rels. Replace with religions.related. Replace with related_groups.caption. Replace with image_caption.langs. Replace with languages.The Pequot (/ˈpiːkwɒt/ PEE-kwot) are a Native American people of Connecticut. The modern Pequot are members of the federally recognized Mashantucket Pequot Tribe, four other state-recognized groups in Connecticut including the Eastern Pequot Tribal Nation, or the Brothertown Indians of Wisconsin. They historically spoke Pequot, a dialect of the Mohegan-Pequot language, which became extinct by the early 20th century. Some tribal members are undertaking revival efforts.
The Pequot and the Mohegan were formerly a single group, but the Mohegan split off in the 17th century as the Pequot came to control much of Connecticut. Simmering tensions with the New England Colonies led to the Pequot War of 1634–1638, which some historians consider to be a genocide under modern day terms, which dramatically reduced the population and influence of the Pequot; many members were killed, enslaved, or dispersed. The Treaty of Hartford of 1638 sought to eradicate the Pequot cultural identity by prohibiting the Pequots from returning to their lands, speaking their tribal language, or referring to themselves as Pequots.
Small numbers of Pequots remain in Connecticut, receiving reservations at Mashantucket in 1666 and at the Pawcatuck River in 1683; others lived in different areas and with other tribes. In the 18th century, some Christian Pequot joined members of several other groups to form the Brothertown Indians in western New Hampshire. They relocated to Western New York in the 19th century, where they were allowed land by the Oneida people of the Iroquois League, and later to Wisconsin, where they were granted a reservation.
The Mashantucket Pequot Tribe received federal recognition in 1983 through a settlement of a land claim. In 1986, they founded the Foxwoods Resort Casino on their land. Located in proximity to the New York City metropolitan area, it has become one of the country's most successful Native American casinos.
The Pawcatuck River Pequot formed the Eastern Pequot Tribal Nation, which is recognized by Connecticut but is not federally recognized. Additionally, Pequot descendants are enrolled in the federally recognized Mohegan Tribe, as well as the Schaghticoke Tribal Nation and Golden Hill Paugussett Indian Nation of Connecticut, and the Brothertown Indians of Wisconsin, which also have degrees of state recognition. The Poospatuck Reservation on Long Island is home to a few hundred self-identified Pequot descendants.