sachem

n.

1. 1. A chief of a Native American tribe or confederation, especially an Algonquian chief.
   2. A member of the ruling council of the Iroquois confederacy.
2. A high official of the Tammany Society, a political organization in New York City.

[Of Massachusett origin.]

(SAY-chuhm)

noun
1. The chief of a tribe or a federation.
2. A political leader.

Etymology
From Algonquian.

Usage
"Sen. Edward Kennedy is a family sachem ..." — James J. Kilpatrick; My Satrap, Your Sachem, His Avatar; Chicago Sun-Times; Nov 24, 2002.

"Corruption often was nothing to get abashed about -- as Tammany Hall sachem George Washington Plunkitt explained in 1905: 'I see my opportunity and I take it... There's a distinction between honest graft and dishonest graft.'" — Michael Powell; N.Y. Proposes To Leave the Parties Behind; Washington Post; Nov 1, 2003.

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Sachem, a term drawn from Algonkin speakers of the Northeast. Although English colonists in New England applied the term to most Indian leaders, the term truly applied to hereditary civil leaders as opposed to war leaders who acquired their status through prowess in combat. Much of a sachem's leadership depended on establishing consensus among the members of his village. Most sachems were men, but there are examples in New England history of women with the title. The term was adopted in the nineteenth century as a leadership title within the Tammany Hall political machine in New York City.

Bibliography

Salisbury, Neal. Manitou and Providence: Indians, Europeans, and the Making of New England, 1500–1643. New York: Oxford University Press, 1982.

an Indian chief; a Tammany leader

Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The noun has 2 meanings:

Meaning #1: a political leader (especially of Tammany Hall)

Meaning #2: a chief of a North American tribe or confederation (especially an Algonquian chief)
  Synonym: sagamore

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