Niantic, Western

Western Niantic Tribe

Variant Names         

Nehantic, Nayantaquit, the Seaside Indians

Meaning                    

People of the “point of land on a tidal river” (Trumbull, Indian Place Names, 36)

Location

Between the Thames and Connecticut Rivers, mostly at the mouth of the Connecticut River, around Niantic Bay and Niantic River, and in parts of modern East Lyme and Waterford, Connecticut

Language

Algonquin. Y-dialect similar to the Pequot, Mohegan, Narragansett, and Montauk

Traditional Villages

Niantic, Old Lyme, and Oswegatchie

Inter-Tribal Affiliations

Mohegan, Wangunk, Quinnipiac