Help From Squanto
Accommodate: How did the Native Americans assist the colonists?
Disclaimer: The story of Squanto is documented through journals and oral recounts of his life and his role in working with the earlier settlers. While many of the facts are verified, a lot is still unconfirmed. However, what we do know about Squanto is that he lived a life following God’s plan.
The colonists owed community life in their new world to their Native American friends. But one Native American, in particular, played an important role in the colonist community. This man’s name was Squanto.
Squanto’s life was, in many ways, remarkable. Squanto was born and grew up in a Native American village in the Patuxet tribe. While we do not know much about his life as a child, historians believe he was kidnapped by an English explorer named Thomas Hunt and was brought to Spain, where he was sold into slavery.
Squanto was born into the Patuxet tribe, which occupied lands in present-day Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Little is known about his early life, but what we do know comes from folk stories and tales about his life and his interactions with the colonists.
A group of monks found Squanto and took care of him. A monk is a member of a religious community who does not enjoy many of the ordinary comforts of life for religious reasons. The monks taught Squanto about their faith and they taught him to speak their language.
The colonists owed their lives to their Native American friends, but one Native American – Squanto, in particular, played a very important part in the Pilgrims’ success.
1
After five years, the monks could tell that Squanto missed his family and wanted to return home. The monks found a way for Squanto to get back home. In 1618, after meeting many new people, facing challenges, receiving blessings, and longing for home, a ship was finally found that would take Squanto back to his family.
2
Squanto learned to speak English. He learned how English people lived together in families. He learned English ways and manners. Most importantly, Squanto also learned to like the English people. He was friendly to them. While we do not know exactly how Squanto made it back to America, it was at exactly the right time to meet the colonists.
3
When Squanto landed in America, his home was not what he remembered. A terrible sickness struck his village. He moved to a nearby village but living there was not the same. Eventually, Squanto moved to the woods, away from everyone except for a tribesman from a neighboring village who would come to visit him. This man was named Samoset.
4
While living in the woods, Squanto noticed a new group of people had come to live in his old village. He became curious and wanted to learn more. As he watched the new people, he noticed that they spoke and dressed like English people he had met when he was kidnapped. Samoset helped introduce Squanto to the colonists. The Pilgrims told Squanto how hard life was for them in America, and Squanto told the colonists about how hard life was for him when he was kidnapped. They became friends over their stories.
5
Squanto felt sorry for the colonists as he knew what it was like to lose your home and friends and be scared. He wanted to help. Squanto showed the colonists where the fish swam and how to catch them. Also, he taught them how to catch eels in the stream; how to look for lobsters among the sea rocks; where to hunt turkey, deer, and other animals; where wild plants grew and what was good to eat; when and how to plant kernels of corn.
“I am Squanto. I am known to all those who gather here: English, Pokanoket, Nemasket, and even a few of my own surviving Patuxets. I speak to you as a pniese, a man of honor. I will never leave this land. I give thanks for all of our people to the Creator of All Things.”
– Joseph Bruchac, Squanto’s Journey: The Story of the First Thanksgiving