That made him valuable, but it also placed him in a dangerous position.

In 1675, Sassamon was found dead beneath the ice of a pond.

English authorities investigated.

Evidence and testimony led them to accuse several Wampanoag men of his murder.

The colonial government tried and executed three Wampanoag men.

For the English, the executions represented the enforcement of law.

For many Native people, they represented something much more serious: a colonial government exercising authority over Native people and punishing them according to English procedures.

The dispute was not only about whether the accused men were guilty.