Mahican
The Mahican, meaning "People of the Wolf," were an Algonquian-speaking indigenous group closely related to the Delaware people, with significant cultural influences from the Mohawk. Historically, they inhabited the region along both sides of the Hudson River and extended into northern New York, approaching Lake Champlain. The arrival of Dutch and English settlers, along with the military alliance of the Iroquois Confederacy, led to significant displacement of the Mahican in the mid-17th century, pushing them east and eventually into western Massachusetts, near present-day Stockbridge.
In the early 1800s, further pressures from white encroachment forced many Mahican to migrate south into Pennsylvania and along the Ohio River, while others sought refuge in Canada. Those who remained became part of the Stockbridge American Indian community, with many assimilating into white culture through education in mission schools. A prominent figure in Mahican history is John Wannuaucon Quinney, who played a crucial role in securing land for the Mahican in Wisconsin and advocated for the preservation of their heritage.
The Mahican society was structured around three clans—Bear, Wolf, and Turtle—and operated under a matrilineal system, living in longhouses and led by hereditary sachems. Today, the Mahican are associated with the Stockbridge-Munsee Band, residing on a reservation in Shawano County, Wisconsin, where they engage in economic activities such as casino operations to support their community.
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Mahican
- CATEGORY: Tribe
- CULTURE AREA: Northeast
- LANGUAGE GROUP: Algonquian
- PRIMARY LOCATION: Hudson River Valley (New York State), Wisconsin, Saskatchewan, Oklahoma
- POPULATION SIZE: 1,500 (Stockbridge-Munsee Community Band of Mohican Indians, 2025)
The Mahican (Mohican) were Algonquian-speaking people closely related to the Delaware or Lenni Lenape and were very strongly influenced by the Mohawk. They lived on both sides of the Hudson River and in northern New York, nearly to Lake Champlain. When the Iroquois Confederacy became an allied military force after 1650, and Dutch and English settlers began moving into the lower Hudson River valley, the Mahican were pushed first east of the Hudson and then onto settlements in western Massachusetts near present-day Stockbridge.
Mahican, translated as “People of the Wolf,” is easily confused with the Mohegan, also of Delaware lineage, who lived in the Connecticut and lower Hudson River area. (It is not certain which Indigenous American group James Fenimore Cooper was referring to in his 1826 novel Last of the Mohicans.)
White encroachment and the Iroquois alliance forced many Mahican members in the early 1800s to migrate south into Pennsylvania and then down the Ohio River. Some migrants continued with other Delaware tribes into Oklahoma, while others went north through the straits of Mackinaw into Canada.
Mahican who stayed behind became associated with the Indigenous Americans. Educated in White mission schools, many assimilated into White culture. During the revolutionary war, Stockbridge Indigenous American men in high percentages joined the American army, influenced in part by the Iroquois alliance with the British.
History’s most famous Mahican was John W. Quinney (Quinequan, 1797-1855). He was instrumental in purchasing Menominee land in Wisconsin to secure the survival of the remnants of the Mahican. Quinney also created a constitution for his people and resisted American citizenship for the Mahican so that they might better preserve their heritage. He served as grand sachem from 1852 until his death.
A beaded coat on display in the Milwaukee Museum shows craftsmanship and design patterns closely related to northeast Algonquian-speaking Narragansett people. There is no visible Iroquois influence. The Mahican had three clans: Bear, Wolf, and Turtle. The office of sachem was hereditary. The sachem was assisted by councilors called Hero, Owl, and Runner, indicating lineage to the Delaware. Mahican lived in longhouses and were matrilineal. Their lifestyle was identical to the way of life of Eastern Woodland Indigenous Americans.
In the mid-2020s, the Mahican associated with the Stockbridge-Munsee Band lived mostly in Shawano County, Wisconsin, on a 22,000 acre reservation. They were involved in successful casinos that funded programs for the people on the reservation. Other descendants of the Mahican could be found amongst the Munsee-Delaware Indigenous American communities, with whom the Mahican share close ties.
Bibliography
“Brief History.” Stockbridge-Munsee Community Band of Mohican Indians, www.mohican.com/brief-history. Accessed 9 Jan. 2025.
Dyer, Louisa A. The House of Peace. Longmans, Green, 1955.
LePoer, Barbara Leitch. A Concise Dictionary of Indian Tribes of North America. Edited by Kendall T. LePoer, Reference Publications, 1979.
Lurie, Andrea. "The Mohawks and Mahicans in New Netherland: A Look at their History and Architecture." Historic Albany Foundation, 23 Apr. 2021, www.historic-albany.org/news/2021/3/29/the-mohawks-and-mahicans-in-new-netherland-a-look-at-their-history-and-architecture. Accessed 9 Jan. 2025.
Skinner, Alanson. "Mahican Ethnology." Bulletin of the Public Museum of the City of Milwaukee, vol. 2, no. 1, 1912, pp. 87-116.
“Stockbridge-Munsee.” Milwaukee Public Museum, www.mpm.edu/content/wirp/ICW-218. Accessed 9 Jan. 2025.
Weiser-Alexander, Kathy. "The Stockbridge Tribe of the Mohican." Legends of America, June 2021, www.legendsofamerica.com/stockbridge-tribe. Accessed 9 Jan. 2025.