Algonkian people in New England-Wampanoag, Mohegan, Pequot, Narragansett, Nipmuc, Scaghticoke, Mahican, Abenaki, Penobscot, Passamaquoddy, Micmac, Maliseet, and many others-lived what seemed to their White neighbors to be marginal existences. Local histories and newspapers began to interpret the deaths of elderly Indigenous individuals as part of a more general death or disappearance of Native Americans as a people. Even as this “last of the Indians” myth of disappearance gained strength, written documents, including tribal records, government documents, and family papers reveal a persistent and continuous Native American presence in New England. The life and writings of William Apes (Apess) (1798-1839), a Pequot preacher and orator, provide rare insights into Indigenous life and community. Apes drew attention to racism and legal injustices, revealing the sophistication of Indigenous peoples’ understanding of their situation.