Melissa Tantaquidgeon Zobel (b.1960)* grew up on Occum Lane on Mohegan Hill, on the homestead of her legendary ancestor, Samson Occum/Occom. She learned Mohegan traditions from her great-aunt, Gladys Tantaquidgeon.
Zobel holds multiple academic…
Stephanie “Morning Fire” Fielding is known for her work in linguistics, especially for her work in resurrecting the Mohegan language. A member of the Mohegan Tribal Council of Elders, she lives on the Mohegan reservation in southeastern Connecticut.…
Fidelia Fielding (1827 – 1908) was the last fluent speaker of the Mohegan language. She lived in Mohegan all of her life, and was known to keep to herself. She was very loyal to her Mohegan culture and traditions, and was also the last Mohegan known…
Berry Basket, c. 1840, Ash Splint, Possibly Mohegan, Housed at Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum
For generations of indigenous people, the art of basketry has been a primary source of economic survival and cultural preservation. Basket making is never a…
This 1754 herbal diary is a rare written record of indigenous medicinal practices from early New England. Part of the original manuscript is housed at Dartmouth College (link above); the other part is in the New London County Historical Society in…