Born: Unknown, probably c.1585 -1590
Died: by 1661

….he governed his men better with few strokes, than others did with many…
– Hobbomock, 1623

Every sachim taketh care for the widow and fatherless, also for such as are aged and any way maimed, if their friends be dead, or not able to provide for them….
– Edward Winslow, 1624

Ousamequin was the sachem or autonomous leader of Pokanoket and the Wampanoag people at the time of the Mayflower’s arrival and for 40 years after Plymouth Colony was established.

He was given the title of Massasoit, meaning “great leader.” Ties of kinship and friendship throughout the southeastern region helped sustain Ousamequin’s highly respected standing.

In the spring of 1621, Ousamequin initiated contact with the English at Plymouth and entered into an alliance with the Colony. The balance of power in 1621 was with the Wampanoag, who greatly outnumbered the English. This changed as the English prospered and more ships arrived. Court records reveal frequent conflicts and increasingly harsher treatment of Native peoples.

Ousamequin died sometime after 1653 and by 1661. He did not live to see the suspicious death of his eldest son Wamsutta in 1662, or his younger son Metacom’s decision to rise up against colonial expansion in 1675 (King Philip’s War). He never witnessed the brutal oppression of his people that followed.

In 1851, the graves of Ousamequin and 41 other Indigenous people were disturbed by railroad construction in Warren, Rhode Island and later exhumed. The remains of the Great Sachem and items buried with him were scavenged by sightseers and amateur archaeologists. In 2017, after decades of Indigenous campaigning, Ousamequin’s remains were returned and reburied alongside his people.