The Tunxis were a group of Quiripi speaking Connecticut Native Americans that is known to history mainly through their interactions with English settlers in New England.

Broadly speaking, their location makes them one of the Eastern Algonquian-speaking peoples of Northeastern North America, whose languages shared a common root.

In 1640, the Tunxis sold their agricultural fields to the governor of the Connecticut Colony, who was acting on behalf of a group of colonists from nearby Hartford, who called their new settlement Farmington.

Perhaps as a result of this recent amicable agreement, the Tunxis did not flee their homes or join with the Indians during King Philip’s War (1675-1676), and some served as scouts for the colonists’ forces.

In 1688, the Tunxis demonstrated their friendliness by allowing a local Englishmen to suggest who he felt their sachem (leader) should be, and accepted his choice.