| Bio notes |
Also known as Mohican or River Indians. They were an Algonquian-speaking people historically based in southern Connecticut. Originally part of the Pequot Tribe, the Mohegan slowly detached themselves and ultimately fought as English allies in the 1637 Pequot War, from which they emerged one of the most powerful New England tribes (having absorbed the remaining Pequot). Their population steadily declined in 17th and 18th centuries, however, largely as a result of war and their frequent dealings with the colonists, and they were forced to surrender much of their land rights to pay back trading debts. By 1777, all Mohegan lands had been ceded to the government of Connecicut. Around 1773, their fellow tribesman and Presbyterian Minister Samson Occum converted about 300 Mohegan; but finding that this did not improve their landless situation in Connecticut, he led these “Brotherton Indians” to accept the Oneidan invitation to share land in upstate New York. The move was completed by 1788, but in 1834, the Brotherton, Oneida, and Stockbridge Indians all relocated to northern Wisconsin. |