We have romanticized the history of the Mahican or Mohican Indian, or rather James FenimoreCooper did in  The Last of the Mohicans,  and  we believe him.  In this  romanticized view, the  Mohicans were to have died out long ago, fighting till the bitter end. Further promoting this view is the lack of information and resources about the Mohican tribe. You would think that because the legend of the  Mohican tribe is so popular,  more people would want to investigate  and inquire into the truth about the  Mohican Indians,  instead of passively  taking  Cooper's word for it.  However, Contrary to popular belief, the  Mohicans were not completely killed off.  In fact,  some Mohicans survived and today go by the name of  Stockbridge-Munsee, residing in near Green Bay, Wisconsin. We hope to help the investigation of the Mohican tribe further with our findings from a  limited number of web sites and books. This is what we have learned about the Stockbridge-Munsee tribe.

1.  History
2.  Influences
3.  Government
4.  Culture
5.  Mahican Today
6.  Conclusion
7.  Links and Bibliography

    The Mahican tribe has a rich history, one that is riddled with war, the influx of other tribes and cultures, and migration. First, lets begin with the Mahican tribe prior to Dutch and English influence.  Prior to the year 1609 the Mahican’s were a tribe that roamed the lands from Manhattan Island to Lake Champlain, from the coast to the Houstatonic Valley.  In 1609 though, Henry Hudson, a Dutch sailor and explorer, sailed down the Hudson River on an expedition en-route to explore the American Landscape, and encountered the Mahican Tribe.  Hudson found the Mahican’s and found them eager to trade with him.  Hudson initiated trade with the Mahican’s and in doing so, began an entire cultural shift that would alter the Mahican lifestyle forever.

    The Mahican’s traded what they had abundance of, furs.  The Dutch merchants were immediately attracted to the furs that the Mahican’s had to offer, and consequently returned to elaborate on the initial trades that Hudson had begun.  The constant trade and influx of the "white" culture into the Mahican way of life, and onto their land, dilapidated the Mahican recourses and land, and began to work its way into the Mahican’s culture.

    From 1628 to 1675 the Mahican tribe was at war with their neighbors the Mohawks.  War came about with the Mohawks because of the Dutch fur trade, the close proximity in which the two tribes lived, control of the area and the constant Mahican use of the Mohawk land in order to continue the bustling trading system.  Throughout the war with the Mohawks and continuing after the war, the Mahican influence declined in the area in which they roamed.  As a direct result of this, the Dutch and English began to establish colonies on the existing Mahican land and hunting grounds.  However, the Mahican’s and the Mohawks did form an alliance and took over the control of the wampum trade on the lower Hudson River.  In 1776, the Mahican’s joined the colonists in the Revolutionary war.  Throughout the war the Mahican’s lost much of their land, resulting in an invitation by the Oneida Indian Tribe to join them on their land.  Thus, the Mahican’s re-located to the Oneida land, and then in 1818 received notice of land in Indiana that was granted to the Mahican’s by the government.  The Mahican Tribe once again migrated, this time to Indiana, only to find the land already occupied by settlers.  From here, the Mahican’s traveled south to form a village joined with the Munsee Indians on the White River in Indiana.  The conjoining of these two tribes brought about the Stockbridge Indians, who are still living today on a reservation outside of Green Bay, Wisconsin.

    The Mahican's society was highly influenced by their regular warring against the Iroqouis.  Like the Iroqouis, the Mahicans were a confederacy of tribes.  The Mahicans separated themselves into three clans, Bear, Wolf, and Turtle, each with their own set of tribal council members.  During times of war, the Mahicans would come together and appoint a war chief who would act as a dictator to keep the people unified during dangerous times.  During the years after encountering the Europeans, Mahicans were manipulated by the Whites to fight neighboring tribes for the sake of European profit.

    When the Dutch landed in the Hudson River Valley where the tribe resided, they immediately began trading with the Natives for valuable furs.  The Dutch supplied them with firearms, which quickly replaced the outdated bows and arrows.  Upon introduction to Christianity, the Mahican's religion and cultural traditions began to destabilize.  It didn't take long for their society to become dependent on the Dutch for trade, and guns and ammunition to help fight off their enemies.

    In an attempt to raise profits, the Dutch organized a peace treaty between the Mahicans and the further inland Mohawks (part of the Iroqouis).  The Mohawks were allowed to cross the Mahican territory, but had to pay the Mahicans a toll.  Peace continued for six years this way until the Mohawks grew tired of paying their enemies money and declared war against the Mahicans.  The Dutch tried to regain peace between the two tribes but soon realized that it would be nearly impossible so they packed up their stuff and left.  They retreated to forts further away from the raging war and began to farm and settle while they waited for the war to end.

    When the Mohawks finally defeated the Mahicans, the Dutch commenced trading again, but with the Mohawks as their primary trading partner as opposed to the Mahicans.  The Mahicans being nearly wiped out from diseases and warfare, and running low on beaver to hunt, began attacking neighboring tribes in an attempt to hunt their land and trade what they found to

the Dutch for supplies.  The Dutch, whose main concern was profit, supplied them with firearms and just enough ammunition to fight other tribes, without having enough ammo to turn on the Dutch.  The Mahicans, although a very prosperous confederacy of tribes before the introduction of European culture, soon fell victim to the back stabbing and manipulative profit hunting whites.

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    The Mahican Tribe is a confederation of five tribes contained in forty villages.  The five tribes that make up the confederation are the Mahican’s, the Mechkentowoon, the Wawyachtonoc, the Westenhuck and the Weikagjoc.  These tribes and villages are governed by hereditary decent, mainly, matrilineal decent.  There are three clans with in the system, the bear, and wolf and turtle clans.  A council of these clan leaders heads the villages.  However, in time of war, the Mahican council passes all authority over to a war chief that has been chosen for his proven ability with in the village, tribes and clans.  This chosen leader has the power of a dictator, and holds this until the war, or the reason he was selected Chief, is over.   A more common aspect of the Mahican government is the Hero.  Heroes were men elected to assist in the Chief's activities because of exceptional courage and persistence in war.  The Heroes executed the calls for war and when peace came about put their power back into the power of the clan’s.  The final aspect of the Mahican Tribe government was the Office of the Owl.  This position was given to a man with exceptional speaking abilities and a strong memory.  He sat beside the Chief and proclaimed the Chief’s orders to the rest of the tribes.

    The culture of the Mahican Indians has been confused with that of the Mohegan Indians, because of Thomas Cooper’s book, The Last of the Mohicans.  However, the Mohegan Indians were a separate tribe, which migrated and settled in Connecticut. And so, there culture differs.

   The Mahican culture was shaped by their constant warfare with the neighboring Iroquois, and also by the "cultures of the surrounding tribes- Mohawk, Esopus, Wapinger, Housatonic and Sokoki"(Brasser 198).   The latter tribes influence was predominantly on their social organization and intertribal relationships.  The Mahican Indians were a confederacy of five tribes, and as many as forty villages.  These villages were governed by "hereditary sachems of matrilineal descent" (Brasser 200).

    The Mahicans chose to place their villages on hilltops, near rivers.  Each village was about 200 people, or so data suggests. Within the villages were bark covered longhouses.  In the longhouses were about three fireplaces.  This could supply heat for about three nuclear families.  As one could assume, houses of chiefs tended to be larger.  They contained decorative art because sometimes these longhouses were used for ceremonies, and such.  It is suggested that about every 8-12 years the villages would change location.  "This was due to the exhaustion of the nearby garden plots, a shortage of firewood, and the increasing filth in and around the village" (Brasser 198-199).

"Village of the Mahican." National Anthropoligical Archives.

    Around the village, gardens were constructed.  Although they were usually small in size, they produced large quantities of maize, beans, squash, and sunflowers. While the men paddled dugouts and bark canoes or fished, the women spent their time gathering food from the garden and nearby forests.  During the winter months, families would leave to hunt in the specified territories.  Bows, arrows, spears and traps were used in hunting.  This provided the families with food and skin for clothing.

    The hunting territories were located in the spurs of the mountain ranges, along the rivers and creeks.  The older tribal members stayed in the village and made crafts, such as pottery and jewelry.  The only time, before the end of the hunting season, when the tribal members would return back to the village would be for rituals of the Deer Sacrifice, and Bear Sacrifice.  These rituals would end in a large feast. The Indians would finally return home to the village for the season, before the thaw.  [Brasser 198-200]

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    The Mahican tribe of today lives a very different life than the Mahican tribe of the past.  Today the Mahican tribe is called the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mahican Indians and lives far from their original land.  Now located in Shawano County, Wisconsin, the Mahican people have a population of about 1,500.

   The tribal government of today is also very different than that of the past.  Today the tribe and its land are governed by a tribal council composed of seven members.  The chairperson and treasurer are elected biannually; the vice-chair and four Council members annually.  The council's responsibilities include upholding the tribal Constitution and ordinances, and implements a number of programs through various boards and committees.  In the late 1970’s and 1980’s the United States government proposed erecting a low-level radiation dump on the entire Stockbridge-Munsee Reservation and half of the nearby Menominee Reservation.  However, the two tribes joined forces, along with non-Indian residents and as of 1993 the U.S. government has been looking elsewhere.

    On the tribal lands are tribal offices, a comprehensive health center, the Ella Besaw Residential Center for the Elderly, a community center for the elderly, a youth center, the Arvid E. Miller Memorial Historical Library Museum, a campground and powwow grounds, and the Mahican Northstar Casino and Bingo Hall.  The casino has brought with it to the Stockbridge-Munsee people a considerable drop in unemployment rates.  However, many other Stockbridge people have found employment through various tribal programs already mentioned, and there are also several small tribal businesses off the reservation that employ tribal members.  Also, many Stockbridge-Munsee travel to nearby towns and cities to work.  Spirituality is something deeply desired among the young Stockbridge-Munsee.  They look to their elders to help and guide them.  Recently the twelve day New Year celebration "W chin Din" was brought back the Stockbridge-Munsee.  Although, there are several faithful Christians in the tribe who were assimilated into the American mainstream and who reject the Mahican’s ancient New Years celebration.  Many young adults Stockbridge-Munsee people have also requested languages classes, incorporating the teaching the Mahican language into the local education system, which would instill a sense of cultural unity.  Every year the All Veteran’s Powwow, attracting drummers, singers, traders, and spectators from all over is held on tribal land, which is the tribes largest, and most popular cultural event.

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   Mahican who, what, when, where, how? The answers to these questions have been hard to answer. Reconstructing Mahican heritage and history is hard to do in today's society, which would much rather believe Cooper's epic, that they died courageously. The Mahicans do continue. Perhaps this web page may help spread a more accurate view of the Mahican Indians.

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Links and Bibliography