The Nipmuc or Nipmuck people are descendants of the indigenous Algonquian peoples of Nippenet, 'the freshwater pond place', which corresponds to central Massachusetts and immediately adjacent portions of Connecticut and Rhode Island.  The Nipmuc Nation is a self-identifier used by Chaubunagungamaug Nipmuc of Worcester County, Massachusetts. Most of group's over 500 members live in and around Chaubunagungamaug Reservation, Hassanamisco Reservation and the city of Worcester. The English had their first encounter with members of the tribe in 1630, when John Acquittamaug (Nipmuc) took maize to sell to the starving colonists of Boston.

The Nipmuc are recognized by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. They are not recpgnized federally however.  In 2004, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (Department of the US Government) decided that the group did not meet four of the seven mandatory requirements for federal government recognition as a "nation." Like many state recognized tribes in the United States, they continue to govern their own affairs.