Mohegan
The Mohegan tribe, originally part of the Pequot Nation, is a Native American group that historically occupied the Thames River Valley in Connecticut. Their name, "Mohegan," translates to "wolf," distinguishing them from the Pequot, whose name means "destroyers." The tribe developed distinct cultural practices, living in palisaded villages and engaging in agriculture and hunting. Notable historical figures include Uncas, a sachem who led the Mohegans in their split from the Pequots and later allied with English colonists during the Pequot War. The Mohegans faced significant challenges, including land loss and cultural assimilation, resulting in a primarily mixed ancestry population today. Despite these challenges, they have retained connections to their ancestral land in Uncasville, which features significant cultural sites. The Mohegan tribe gained federal recognition and established their reservation in the 1990s, operating the Mohegan Sun Casino, which supports their community through revenues directed towards cultural preservation and education initiatives. Their history reflects resilience amid the pressures of outside influences and the importance of maintaining their cultural identity.
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Mohegan
- CATEGORY: Tribe
- CULTURE AREA: Northeast
- LANGUAGE GROUP: Algonquian
- PRIMARY LOCATION: Connecticut
- POPULATION SIZE: 2,300 (The Mohegan Tribe, 2023)
The Mohegan occupied the Thames River Valley and its tributaries in Connecticut. Originally, they were part of the Pequot Nation, but they formed their own separate entity in the early seventeenth century. Their original name before the division, “Pequot,” means “destroyers,” while the name “Mohegan” means “wolf.”
The Mohegan lived in palisaded villages, with bark houses clustered around an open area for games and gatherings. Women planted corn and beans, while men hunted deer and other wild game. Their chiefs were called “sachems.”
No Indigenous group in the Northeast has been the subject of so much confusion and so many differing interpretations as the Mohegan. Part of the confusion stems from James Fenimore Cooper’s famed novel The Last of the Mohicans, published in 1826. The author was from New York, and he probably patterned his Indigenous Americans after the Mahicans of that region, an entirely separate Indigenous nation. Cooper spelled the name “Mohican,” and the Connecticut Mohegan's name was sometimes spelled in that way. Cooper made the confusion worse by naming one of his characters “Uncas,” the name of a real-life Mohegan subchief.
It was the sachem Uncas who led the Mohegan in their split with the Pequots. A figure of controversy, Uncas generally remained an ally of the English. In fact, the Mohegan joined the English in the Pequot War of 1637, a conflict that led to the virtual destruction of the Pequot.
There is also some debate over when Uncas finally severed the Mohegan's connection with the Pequots. He married a daughter of Sassacus, a prominent Pequot chief, but a rebellion against Sassacus led to Uncas’s defeat and banishment. The Mohegan escaped destruction in King Philip’s War of 1675–77, thanks largely to their alliance with the English. In 1721, the Mohegan still owned 4,000 acres of the Thames Valley, though it had been reduced to 2,300 by 1850.
The Mohegan entered into a long and steady decline. Some left New England and settled in the Oneida region of New York, while others migrated to Wisconsin, where a small reservation was created in 1832.
In 1861, Connecticut took over many unoccupied Mohegan lands. Though descendants have scattered all over the country, the Mohegan never entirely abandoned their ancestral enclaves around Uncasville, Connecticut. The Uncasville region boasts a Mohegan church and the Fort Shantok Point burial grounds, where members of the tribe are interred. The Mohegan could not stand the pressure of the dominant White culture and eventually assimilated. Extensive intermarriage produced a population that is mainly of mixed ancestry. In 1908, the Eastern Algonquin language shared by the Mohegan and Pequots died with the last native speaker; efforts to resurrect the language began in the late 1990s. As a result of the Mohegan Land Claims Settlement Act of 1994, the Mohegan were able to establish a reservation near Uncasville.
The Mohegan operate several businesses, including the Mohegan Sun Casino, established in 1996 on their reservation in Connecticut, as well as gaming operations across the country in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Nevada. In 2016, the government of South Korea awarded a license to the Mohegan's gaming authority and a Korean chemical manufacturer to jointly build and run another casino resort at the Incheon International airport. The Mohegan INSPIRE opened in the mid-2020s and features gaming, retail spaces, and family friendly entertainment. Casino revenues have been used toward cultural preservation, medical care, and education.
Bibliography
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“Mohegan Fact Sheet.” Mohegan Tribe, 14 July 2023, www.mohegan.nsn.us/docs/default-source/press-kit/mohegan-fact-sheet-07.14.23.pdf?sfvrsn=f66e7aa4‗2. Accessed 30 Dec. 2024.
Oberg, Michael Leroy. Uncas, First of the Mohegans. Cornell University Press, 2006.
"Our Tribal History." Mohegan Tribe, www.mohegan.nsn.us/about/our-tribal-history. Accessed 30 Dec. 2024.
Rizzuto, Rovert. "Mohegan Sun Lands License to Develop $5 Billion Resort Casino in South Korea." MassLive, 26 Feb. 2016, www.masslive.com/news/2016/02/mohegan‗sun‗lands‗license‗to‗d.html. Accessed 30 Dec. 2024.
Roman, Jeniece. “Mohegan Tribe Celebrates Launch of Entertainment Resort in South Korea.” WSHU, 6 Mar. 2024, www.wshu.org/connecticut-news/2024-03-06/mohegan-casino-entertainment-resort-south-korea. Accessed 30 Dec. 2024.
Roura, Phil. “Mohegan's Main Man. The Tribe’s Cultural Leader on the Casino’s Upcoming Anniversary.” NY Daily News, 9 Apr. 2018, www.nydailynews.com/2006/07/23/mohegans-main-man-the-tribes-cultural-leader-on-the-casinos-upcoming-anniversary. Accessed 30 Dec. 2024.
Warren, Jason W. Connecticut Unscathed: Victory in the Great Narragansett War, 1675–1676. University of Oklahoma Press, 2021.