Kutoma was born in 1609 into the Bird's Cry clan in the Lenape tribe. After a skirmish with the neighboring Pequot, he was taken into the Pequot tribe and made to live as one of them when he was still a baby.
After the epidemic in 1633, he fought in the Pequot War, an armed conflict with the English settlers, in 1636 alongside the Pequot. After the native defeat in 1638, he was taken alongside his tribe be sold by slave traders.
While traveling through the Lenape territory, his uncle recognized him as the son of his sister, and convinced the Lenape clan to buy him off of the traders.
Afterwards, Kutoma focused on his singing and on learning new languages, while also becoming accustomed to the niche that had been waiting for him in the clan.
Soon after being bought by the Lenape, he found his barred owl, Ishát (named for his voracious appetite) as an injured chick and found he would not leave.
