Awashonks [SEP] residence
Awashonks
Awashonks (also spelled Awashunckes, Awashunkes or Awasoncks) was a sachem (chief) of the Sakonnet (also spelled Saconet) tribe in Rhode Island. She lived near the southern edge of the Plymouth Colony, not far from Narragansett Bay, near what is now Little Compton, Rhode Island. In the mid-seventeenth century, her lands were claimed by the English settlers of Plymouth Colony. While she had allied herself to the English to increase her power, their victory eroded her standing among both the English and
the Saconet. Awashonks is known for her special talent for negotiation and diplomacy, which helped include the Sakonnets among a tiny handful of natives who received amnesty from colonists.
Awashonks as sachem.
Awashonks became sachem not by inheritance, but through quality of leadership. She was referred to as a Sunksqua, or female chief. During her tenure, she was challenged by both rivals within the Sacxonet as well as English colonists.
Plymouth Colony.
Awashonks was not pro-English until July 1671, when Plymouth leaders