“’The Last of the Mohicans’ is not true. The Mohicans are still here. We’re still here.”
With these words, Robert Hawk Storm, Hereditary Sachem of the Schaghticoke First Nations, delivered an impassioned plea for support to a capacity audience at Pine Plains Library last month. He was accompanied by Valerie LaRobardier, the tribe’s genealogist.
Hawk Storm, from Copake, has dedicated his life to assisting tribal members scattered across four states – NY, CT, MA, and ME — and securing a tract of land where tribal members can restore their traditions. It is an effort that is having some initial success.
In his comments, Hawk Storm introduced the audience to his tribe’s heritage in a talk that ranged from forceful to anguished. He did not dwell on past injustices but sought to look to the future and solve the multiple challenges of his people.
Hawk Storm, who has been Sachem since 2011 produced charts showing he is a direct descendent of Sachem Gideon Mauwee, the first recorded chief of the Schaghticoke Reservation, who in 1729 signed a deed to a large tract of land near Kent, CT. Historical records reveal that Gideon Mauwee was cousin to Sachem Umpachenee of Stockbridge and the brother of Sachem Benjamin Kokhkewaunaunt/King Ben of the Mahicans.
The presentation broke common misconceptions. For one thing, women as well as men could be sachems. “My grandmother Weetamu was Sachem,” said Hawk Storm.
Today, the tribe focuses on research to establish a record of social and political continuity over the centuries and on regaining some of its ancestral territory. “Getting the history right is important to show tribal continuity since the first contact in 1620,” he said.
The Schaghticoke First Nations is one of three branches of the Schaghticoke tribe, all of them part of the Algonquin speaking nations. “It’s important to remember that we are all one people,” said Hawk Storm. “We’ve been divided, conquered and declared extinct so many times for the purpose of taking our land and removing the people from the land.” The tribe is recognized by the state of Connecticut and maintains a heavily wooded reservation near Kent.
Fighting Extinction
For a tribe struggling for recognition, the question of extinction looms large. The official record is clear – Eunice Mauwee, a culture keeper who died in 1860 aged 101, was the last full-blooded member of her tribe. “That’s news to Hawk,” said LaRobardier, the tribal genealogist, to laughter.
Part of the problem is that much of the tribe’s history was conveyed orally. “There was no written language in the Algonquin tribes,” said LaRobardier. “Each group had a culture keeper who memorized everything that was passed on by the previous generation. It was very effective until the chain broke. There are church records, but always from the perspective of the white settler, so they’re only partly useful.”
Detailed written history of the Pine Plains area began in 1740 when Moravians crossed over the Hudson near Tivoli and founded the Moravian mission near what today is Pine Plains. The missionaries found the local Schaghticoke decimated by disease and alcohol, which had been introduced by settlers. The Moravians restored sobriety and helped the tribe with legal matters. “The Moravians were smart,” said LaRobardier. “They did not demand the tribe give up sweat lodges and other cultural elements. They lived among the tribe.” But the sobriety campaign hurt rum sales, so local merchants eventually hustled the Moravians out.
Photo Credit: Schaghticoke First Nations
The story of how settlers wrested land from the Schaghticoke is a sadly familiar one nationwide. Shabash, a Mahican Sachem, had dominion over thousands of acres of Dutchess County. He sold much of it in 1706, reserving the part of Little Nine Partners that included Pine Plains for the continued use of his family, but failed to get paid, despite repeated attempts which included petitions to the governor in 1740. Thus began a multigenerational fight for compensation.
After losing a series of legal battles, the tribe’s difficulties increased. “We were left no tillable land on the reservation, and we were refused jobs in surrounding towns,” said Sachem Hawk Storm. His family experienced real poverty. “My aunts would go around selling baskets to put food on the table.
“It’s a fight just to exist. This fight will continue, and so will our efforts to help people with trauma. I’m tired of going to children’s funerals doing death ceremonies. We need to stop fighting each other, bring people out of the inner city and put their hands back on the land. I refuse to give up on half of my people because they don’t meet certain guidelines.”
A New Beginning in Copake
In 2019, the Schaghticokes were given back 73 acres near Copake. “It is a wonderful opportunity,” Hawk Storm said. “We are now using the land for sustainable agriculture and forestry and bringing in young tribal members to learn these skills.
The tribe focuses on restoring the biodiversity of area forests and bringing back the foods and medicines that once were found here. It has also teamed up with local groups such as the Hudson River Climate Alliance, the Dutchess Land Conservancy and the Watershed Center in Millerton and is expanding work on climate initiatives with four universities. They’ve also teamed up with local farmers and foresters. Plans include the construction of a conservation and cultural center that will benefit the Schaghticoke First Nations and neighboring towns. “Benefitting neighboring communities is very important to us,” Sachem Hawk Storm said. “Please come volunteer.”
Some tribal members live in neighborhoods such as inner-city Bridgeport, CT, that are considered “food deserts” — neighborhoods that lack readily available healthy food. Hawk Storm and his partners hope their farm can produce fresh food for these communities. “It’s a foothold,” he said, “a place to regroup and recapture what was lost.
To support the social, economic, and political development of the Schaghticoke descendants, the tribe has established a non-profit arm, Schaghticoke First Nations, Inc.
“If we work together, we could get some of our lands back, bring the people back, and have a bigger voice in fighting climate change. We can make things happen.”
The evening was hosted by Dyan Wapnick and the Little Nine Partners Historical Society.