Our history with the word “Sagamore”

In 2020, the newspaper’s faculty advisers suggested digging deeper into the origins of our name. 2020-21 Longform Managing Editor Graham Krewinghaus led a process of research which has brought us to our position today.

Until March, 1934, issues of our newspaper included a 1632 quote from Massachusetts Governor John Winthrop’s journal printed on the first page, directly underneath the name: “there being ten Sagamores and many Indians at Muddy River.”

This quote is part of a larger journal passage: “Notice being given of ten Sagamores and many Indians being assembled at Muddy River, the Governor sent Capt. Underhill with twenty musketeers to make discoveries, but at Roxbury, they heard that they were broken up.”

Captain Underhill led the colonial militia during the Pequot War. Underhill was responsible for the mass murder of Indigenous people, according to the New England Historical Society.

If Underhill had encountered Indigenous people at Muddy River, our town may have been “destined to be called ‘Bloody Brook,’” as Robert Winthrop said in an 1873 speech at proceedings for the dedication of Town Hall. The order Underhill received to “make discoveries” was a license to kill.

2020-21 Arts and Multimedia Managing Editor Aryn Lee said she was surprised when she read the 2013 statement defining “Sagamore.”

“The [statement] said we don’t want to be using the word blindly, and we want to respect and acknowledge the culture that it came from. But that’s not something we have ever really done [as a staff],” Lee said. “I had no awareness of the name of our newspaper and I think that was the case for most people.”

With efforts to continue this research led by 2021-22 Longform Managing Editor Rowan Roudebush, last year our staff was able to make further research developments on how “The Sagamore” might have been chosen as the name of the newspaper.

President of the Brookline Historical Society Ken Liss helped us discover the possible connection between our name and The Improved Order of Red Men, a national fraternal organization.

Officially established in 1834, the Improved Order of Red Men is descended from colonial patriotic organizations, including the Sons of Liberty. Originally exclusive to white men, the organization appropriates Indigenous customs, clothing and terminology. “Sagamore” is one of the Indigenous terms the organization uses to indicate rank. The organization still exists today, with several chapters across the country.

Arthur W. Spencer, the first editor-in-chief of “The Sagamore,” was the son of Charles A.W. Spencer, the assistant chief of records of Brookline’s chapter of The Improved Order of Red Men.

This discovery was a turning point for our staff. After discussions regarding the history of our name, our staff voted to change the name in the spring of 2022. Beginning in the summer of 2022, our staff worked to initiate conversations with local Indigenous people and experts on Indigenous history to understand the modern-day impact of our use of the word “Sagamore.”