Wawequa

Wawequa was one of the sons of Owaneco I and Meekenump and brother of the Mohegan sachem, Uncas.  Wawequa’s main village may have been at Wawequa’s Hill, a site associated with his name in present-day Norwich, Connecticut.  His relationship with Uncas has not been fully explored.  Wawequa executed Miantonomo, the Mohegan’s enemy in 1643 on his brother’s orders.  But, while it appears the two were leaders of the larger tribe, Wawequa may have had a number of smaller villages under his control, separate from Uncas, and have pursued political policies and military strategies of his own.   He led a sizable force of Mohegan warriors against the Nipmuck in 1646 and threatened the Indians at Fishers Island the following year.  For both offenses, he was censured by the Commissioners of the United Colonies.  In 1652, it was the Narragansetts who complained of his aggression.  On August 15, 1659, he and his brother deeded, ostensibly in trust, most of their Mohegan lands to John Mason.  On September 12 of that same year, Wawequa deeded rights to a lead mine in the Shetucket Country to John Winthrop, Jr.  Oberg, Uncas: First of the Mohegans, 107, 123, 131-132. Pulsifer, Records of the United Colonies, Vol. 1, 101-102.