Two Sides of a Map: Algonquian Mapmaking as a Tool of Foreign Policy

Indigenous mapmaking in New England is a tradition that predates English arrival. Between 1602 and 1662, European explorers and colonists recorded the creation of at least five indigenous maps in New England. At a time when English colonists rarely, if ever, made maps, Algonquians seemed extremely comfortable with them. The separate development of these two mapping traditions meant that Algonquian mapping had a different style and served a drastically different purpose then its English counterpart. Whereas many English maps from the time enshrined exclusive ownership through the display of precise boundaries, Algonquian maps lacked that purpose, focusing on the spatial relationship of human settlement to landmarks. This paper will argue that, while English mapping generally served as an aggressive tool to be employed in conflicts over land, Algonquians employed maps as a tool of diplomacy. This is not to say that Algonquians used mapping naively. To the Algonquians, the passing of information about the ohke (land) allowed them to assert the supremacy of their knowledge, establish territorial claims, and incorporate the colonists in their political system.

Intriguingly, indigenous leaders made three of the maps during and in the aftermath of the Pequot War. These maps maps represent the only three surviving facsimiles of indigenous mapping from the time period, made in the wake of tremendous violence and instability. While records mention other indigenous maps from New England, the cohesive nature and physicality of these three provides an illustrative case study. Different Wuttahtimmaunonk (nations) produced each one for drastically different purposes: sale, military strategy, and territorial claim. But each of the Wuttahitmmaunonk used the maps to signal the depth of their cooperation with the English. Through these three maps this paper will explore how cartography was both a practical tool of knowledge transmission and a cultural symbol.