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Ponkapoag /ˈpɒŋkəpɔːɡ/, also Punkapaug, Punkapoag, or Punkapog, is the name of a Native American "praying town" settled in the western Blue Hills area of eastern Massachusetts during the colonization of the Atlantic seaboard of the United States by settlers from Britain in the 17th century. It is the name given to the winter residence (and subsequently to the tribe) of the group of Massachusett who lived at the mouth of the Neponset River in summer. Ponkapoag is now contained almost entirely by the town of Canton, Massachusetts.
Map of Ponkapoag, Canton, MA 02021, USA
Ponkapoag Plantation was established in 1657 as a 6,000-acre (2,400 ha) town parcel formed from Dorchester, Massachusetts Bay Colony. It was the second Christianized native settlement, or "Praying Town" in Massachusetts, after Natick was established in 1651. In 1654 members of the Nemasket Tribe located in the village of Cohannet in current day Bristol County were among the first Native Americans relocated as part of King Philip's War to Ponkapoag.
The name is derived from a nearby pond 1 mile (1.6 km) south of Great Blue Hill; Ponkapoag means "shallow pond" or "a spring that bubbles from red soil".
The Massachusett (punkapoags) still live within their territory today.