“Sachem” is drawn from the Narragansett language, an Algonquian tongue loosely connected to numerous other Indigenous languages in eastern-central North America. For Narragansett people, a sachem was a kind of political leader highly esteemed in a local region. Though “sachem” is an Indigenous term, it entered the American English vocabulary largely through New York City’s influential (and tumultuous) Tammany Society. That group, which operated from the late 18th century to the 1960s, was central to organizing the Democratic Party in New York. It was overseen by a group of 12 upper leaders called “sachems.”