The Podunk were a Native American people who spoke an Algonquian Quiripi language and lived primarily in what is now known as Hartford County, Connecticut, United States.
[2] Podunk is of Algonquian origin, meaning "where you sink in mire", or a boggy place, in the Nipmuc dialect.
After the English began to settle in this area, the General Court reserved much of the land to the Podunk as their traditional territory.
In the Winter of 1635, the Podunk kept alive the ill-prepared settlers at Hartford with their gifts of "malt, and acorns, and grains."
Smiths were not to work for the Podunk, and none but licensed traders were to buy their corn, beaver, venison, or timber.
The English forbade any trade in arms, horses, dogs, or boats, or in "dangerous" supplies, such as cider or alcohol.
[citation needed] The Podunk were forbidden to enter English houses or handle the weapons of the settlers, nor were they to bring their own guns into the towns.
[5] In 1659, Thomas Burnham (1617–1688) purchased the tract of land now covered by the towns of South Windsor and East Hartford from Tantinomo.