John Sassamon

Who was John Sassamon?

John Sassamon, also known as Wassausmon, was born circa 1600 in or about the Blue Hills area, current Canton, Massachusetts. He became a Christian convert, a praying Indian who served as an interpreter to the colonists, as well as an aide to Metacomet, chief of the Wampanoag Confederacy.

In late 1674, Sassamon was assassinated. A mixed jury of colonists and Indian elders convicted three Pokanoket men for his murder, and they were executed. These events helped spark the conflict known as King Philip's War, in which the English defeated the Wampanoag and ended armed resistance by the Native Americans of southeastern New England.