"I COME BEFORE YOU"

"Great Spirit, whose voice I hear in the winds and whose breath gives life to the world: as I come before You, one of Your many children, I am small and weak; I need Your strength and wisdom.

May I walk in beauty; may my eyes behold the red and purple sunset; may my hands respect what You have made; may my ears be sharp to hear Your voice.

Make me wise, so I may know what You teach in every leaf and rock. Make me strong, so I may be able to fight my greatest enemy, myself. May I ever be ready to come to You with clean hands and straight eyes, so that when life fades like a sunset, I may come to You without shame." 

                                                                   By Chief Yellow Lark

 Submitted by: Bob Wolf Dancer Degnen   

*******************************************************************************************

OUR HISTORY: PAST and PRESENT 

Let me tell you a little about our history.  We are the Ancestrial Tribe of the original Mohegans.  Our roots date back to the 1600's when we were united with the Pequots and moved from the Hudson Valley in New York to Connecticut. 

It was about 30 years after our ancestors moved to Connecticut that the settlers came bringing with them smallpox and destruction. 

It was a few years after this that the tribe split and became the two separate tribes that we have today, the Mohegans and the Pequots. 

The settlers made it difficult to survive as they stole land, slaughtered buffalo and blocked all the water ways that were used for fishing and travel. 

Around the early 1800's most of the Mohegan settlements were destroyed by the white settlers breaking the land into plots for their homes.  Due to a language barrier the Mohegans did not understand the words "sell your land".  The land could not be sold as it belonged to the one who created it,  it was thought that  they wanted to put up lodges of their own to live in,  not own the land and block others from using it. 

Between disease and wars the Mohegan population had dwindled quite a bit.  Also to keep from getting killed or driven away, they married into the culture of the settlers which is how they maintained their identity-by hiding it. 

In the early 1900's admitting to be an Indian was to sign your own death warrent.  We were still around, we just kept it quiet.  Some years later there was a reuniting of the Mohegan people and we have been getting stronger every day since. 

We are here and we do not plan to deny our existence ever again.

*******************************************************************************************

These are two of my favorite ceremonies that we celebrate each year. They are usually held toward the end of the year which makes it nice because things are winding down and gatherings are not so often so it is a good chance to get together again. We gather to celebrate, sing, share food and story. Its nice to be wrapped in a warm blanket feeling the warmth from the fire, while sharing warm feelings with friends and family, I wish it would never end.                                Shi

                                                                               
*****Bear Feast*****

The bear feast is a celebration to honor the Spirit of the Bear. Ceremonial foods are prepared for this feast by the women of the Nation and consist of Squash, Corn, yokeag (corn succotash) and frybread. Prayers are given before the feast to honor the great sleep of the bear as being one of Creator's strongest and wisest teacher. Dancing and singing follow the feast.

Towards the end of the celebration everyone gathers together to sign honor songs for family and friends that have crossed over and then finally a travel song is sung to give blessings and prayers that everyone has a safe journey home. 

 

*****NIKKOMMO--The Spirit of Giving*****


There are many stories that are told about Nikkommo and traditions shared throughout the Eastern Woodland tribes. Many of these stories and traditions are shared at feasts and celebrations held in honor of Nikkommo.

One story that is shared as part of the Mohegan tradition was written by Chief Standing Bear and speaks of a man named Matchesu meaning greedy, selfish and bad, and how this man never shared any of his wealth with his tribe or his people and his greed resulted in his tribe suffering great sickness and hunger. But Matchesu learns on his journey that his wealth truly means nothing without the love of his people. Matchesu then decides to share his wealth with his people and regains the love and respect of them and came to be called 'Nikkommo' The Spirit of Giving, and soon the tradition was practiced in his honor. Every year all the people would bring gifts to be shared with each other, to honor the Spirit of Giving.

We always remember you can count your wealth not by material things you own but by the people that love you.

*******************************************************************************************

*****OUR MOONS*****

There are 13 moons in the Mohegan year.
There are 13 sections on the turtles back.
Turtles are the keepers of time.
The world was formed on the back of Grandfather turtle.

1st Moon       Maple sugar moon (spring)---Geese return, ice
                      melts, maple sugar runs.

2nd Moon      Moon of the peeping frogs---rain showers call the
                      frogs who signal the plants to grow.

3rd Moon      Corn planting moon---corn is planted when the
                      moon is full. It is planted along with beans and
                      squash. (the three sisters)

4th Moon      Strawberry moon---shadbush and dogwood
                      blossoms. This moon begins the shad fishing
                      season.

5th Moon      Thunder moon---warm, time for gathering the
                     first blackberries and corn.

6th Moon     Moon of the hot sun---hottest time of the year.

7th Moon     Harvest moon---time of the great feasting and
                    thanksgiving, pumpkins are gathered along with
                    the final corn, beans, and squash.

8th Moon    Moon of the falling leaves---leaves turn to bright
                   colors and begin to fall as the nights become
                   cooler.

9th Moon    Hunting moon---deer hunting begins.

10th Moon   Beaver moon---the approach of winter, time to trap
                    beaver and smoke meat, ceremony of burning deer
                    bones to give thanks for a favorable hunt.

11th Moon    Cold moon---rivers begin to freeze and the first
                    snow arrives, storytelling time.

12th Moon   Wolf moon---long month, very cold nights, wolves
                    begin to grow very hungry, Mohegan tell stories
                    in their longhouse.

13th Moon   Snow wading moon---ice crystals in the air are
                   shattered by the first thunder of spring, the end
                   of the year is near. (if during the winter months
                   the moon is partially hid by a haze, it is said that
                   the moon is wading through snow.

*******************************************************************************************

                                                          MORE HISTORY

The Mohegans were always good friends with the English and wanted to see them maintain a colony, and thought that after the war they would remain friends.  This partnership did not continue because of the large population of colonists that had no need to maintain a friendship with Indians.  The conditions on Mohegan land deteriorated.  The English lied and cheated during the several wars in New England to gain control over all the land they could steal from the Natives living there.  It was not until about one hundred and fifty years later that the English decided to help with Native rights.

The Mohegans began as a large group in the northeast  amounting to about 2% of the people living in the New England area.  A smallpox epidemic within the Mohegan tribe in 1634, caused their number to drop by about 30%.  Diseases like smallpox, influenza, diphtheria and measles took a toll on the diesease vulnerable Indians.

In 1637 an Englishman was killed  by a nearby tribe, the Niantic, for trading Natives as slaves.  Because of this troops came from Massachusetts to Connecticut and burned out a Niantic village.  The troops also burned down a Pequot village that was close by on their way back north.  This in turn caused a war between the Pequot, Mohegan, Narragansett and English.

In 1675 around 50 Mohegan allied with the English against King Philip and his tribe, the Wampanoag.  It was  a Mohegan warrior who killed King Philip but his tribe was not rewarded for their help in ending the war, nor was it ever mentioned who killed the King.  Once again the services of the Mohegan were used so that the English could profit.  By the end of the nineteenth century the family of Uncas, a great Mohegan Chief, had died.  This made the Mohegan tribe stop and think about how they were being used.  They stayed quiet for many years.   Little by little they started to gather in small groups and stayed to themselves.

For about 25 years after the death of the family of Uncas, there was nothing heard from or about the Mohegan tribe.  Then in 1830 a school was established for Mohegan children.  For the next fifteen years they were taught reading, writing, arithmetic, needlework, religion, grammar and history.  The Mohegan children were learning at a speed equal that of the European children which proved to the English that the Native people were not inferior as was thought. 

The Mohegan's began fighting other tribes in defending the colonists thinking they were ensuring their own survival.  The idea of one tribe killing another for the beliefs of the colonists was a concept that could have originated only in Europe.  The colonists brought many awful things from Europe, such as, disease, distorted and confused religion, and a need to convert them to the European ways of life.  Both disease and the need to take over the minds of the Native people are the same, both were brought to a people that had no immunity to such epidemics.

In the search for religious freedom, the ships full of colonists did not consider the freedoms the Native people already had in this country.  Thousands of years of native traditions, cultures, ceremonies, languages and people had been lost.  For over one hundred and fifty years the Mohegan were not heard from.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~                                                                                                                ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

WE ARE BACK~ We are not going any where, any more.  This time we are staying.  We will get back our traditions, our language, and we will be strong once again.  It is our hopes that this time people can learn from us, instead of taking from us, our culture and traditions, and respect us for who we are.  Until there is an understanding of the unknown there will always be trouble.  I think we are at a time when we can live together in this land.  We need to respect each other and let each be to their own beliefs.  Who can say for sure who has the right and perfect way to live.  We live what we believe and should know that this is okay.  If people are strong in their beliefs then  they  will not feel threatened by others way of thinking.

                                                                                        the editor...Shi

******************************************************************************************

"A Warrior is challenged to assume responsibility, practice humility, and display the power of giving, and then center his or her life around a core of spirituality. I challenge today's youth to live like a warrior."                                                 ~Billy Mills~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~