Start Discovering The Sokoki Story

Before Keene, New Hampshire was inhabited by Americans, there were other people who called the Ashuelot Valley their home. In our research at Keene State College we have discovered that these people called themselves the Sokoki.

The Sokoki are a Western Abenaki people who inhabited the south-western part of New Hampshire along the Connecticut River. They fled northwards when their western neighbors, the Mohawk Indians, attacked in 1664. By 1700, the English began a journey to colonize the land around the Connecticut Watershed. Through research we have began to piece together an unfinished and hidden history of how Sokoki left their land, what other tribes inhabited Keene, New Hampshire and where the natives of this area ultimately ended up.

Here, you can discover what we know about who the Sokoki were, where they went and why. Viewing the Timeline page will show how American historical events, in the colonial period and afterwards, influenced the migration of the Sokoki. Click the links below it such as King Phillip’s War, Dummer’s War, and the French and Indian War to capture how these events affected the Sokoki. View the land page to discover when Keene first became a town and what bloody events unfolded to make that happen. View the people page to understand more about the English and French colonists, and Sokoki and Western Abenaki people of this area. And please feel free to continue your own research by looking into the resources under the sources tab that we gathered and interpreted.

Mission of this Exhibit

There is not a lot written about or from the Sokoki perspective. People of Keene and Keene State College are curious to know about who the Sokoki were and why they left. It is important to know the true history of the original inhabitants of Keene. Keene is an American town due to a colonial invasion, and learning the Sokoki perspective is something that is important to know and understand as a citizen of Keene.

This site helps readers understand the events that have occurred in the past 300 years which drove these native people out of Keene, the Ashuelot Valley, and the Connecticut River Watershed.

See the About Us Page for more information on this website.

 

COPLAC Digital Coursework by Jeniffer Afualo-Robinson and Dorothy Arroyo. Instructed by Professor Marie Duggan and Professor Sabine Klein. September – December of 2018.