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Fishing the Merrimack.m4aVocabulary
Vocabulary
Counsel: The practice of conducting negotiations (in this case, about land or fishing rights, war, etc.) between two different groups.
To the Pennacook and other tribes living in the Merrimack Valley, fish was an incredibly important food source. At the head of what is now called Pawtucket Falls, native people from across the region gathered during salmon runs in the spring to catch fish, which they preserved and stored for winter. These gatherings also served as a time to hold counsel.
This 1585 drawing shows a group of Algonquian people fishing. The Pennacook would have used the same tools and techniques. From their dugout canoes, they used spears to catch fish. In the background of the picture, men are checking their weirs, the large wooden traps used to catch fish as they moved upstream.
Image: 1585 carving by Theodore de Bry and John White. Made in the vicinity of the Virginia Colony.
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