While there were many well-known Sachems of the tribes that inhabited New England in the 17th century, perhaps the greatest - and most overlooked - was Chief Ninigret. He was Sachem of the Niantic Indians during the great turmoil of the mid-17th century. Ninigret allied with English settlers and the neighboring Narragansett Indians in a protracted war with the Pequots - inhabitants of modern day Connecticut. It would be a mistake to consider him an English sympathizer, however, since, upon ascending to power in the 1630s, he attempted to rally tribes in Connecticut, Rhode Island, and on Long Island to expel the English settlers from their territory.
Where Ninigret truly showed great leadership, however, was in his successful neutrality during King Phillip's War. Ninigret was successful in keeping the Niantics out of the war that decimated the Western Pequots and the Narragansetts. In fact, that there are any Narragansetts at all today is owed entirely to Ninigret's neutrality and his willingness to welcome the Narragansett refugees into the Niantic tribe following the war.
This statue to Chief Ninigret is at the entrance to a small coastal park in the Watch Hill section of Westerly. Similar to yesterday's photo, I opted to use the 16-35mm to place the viewer directly into the scene, with Ninigret's statue predominant in the foreground. The hint of the harbor in the background and the intrusion of modern technology on the right (symbolized by the power lines and telephone pole) was intentional, although I'll leave it to the viewer to interpret the symbolism.
Post processing started with a brilliant warm filter in Topaz Adjust. I then adjusted adaptive exposure, adaptive saturation, and contrast. A levels adjustment was added in PSE.
