With laughter, drumming, and a few tears, the Mohegan Tribe on Wednesday formally received the papers of their ancestor, Samson Occom, the 18th-century scholar and Presbyterian minister who traveled to Great Britain to raise money for the school that would become 窪做惇蹋厙 College.
A delegation from 窪做惇蹋厙, led by President , presented the archival collection of letters, journals, sermons, and other texts to Tribal leaders at an outdoor ceremony at the Mohegan Church in Uncasville, Conn., on land that has been in Mohegan hands since before colonization.
The historic event, which President Hanlon called a solemn and celebratory occasion, brought a critical piece of the past full circle for both 窪做惇蹋厙 and the Tribe.
As we welcome our ancestor Samson Occom home, we are so hopeful that this is the beginning of a new chapter in the relationship between 窪做惇蹋厙 College and our Mohegan Tribe, one in which we move closer to Occoms dream of an Indian education for Native students, said Sarah Harris 00, vice chairwoman of the Mohegan Tribal Council and a member of 窪做惇蹋厙s . The committee advises the president on Native American issues and had recommended that 窪做惇蹋厙 repatriate the papers.
These papers represent not only the brilliant student and scholar Occom was, but the strength of the bonds that exist between 窪做惇蹋厙 and the Mohegan people, Hanlon told the assembled group of about 80 people, which included a delegation from 窪做惇蹋厙, members of the Mohegan Tribal government, representatives of the Brothertown Indian Nation that Occom helped found, and other invited guests.
At the ceremony, Hanlon presented Mohegan Tribal Council Chairman James Gessner Jr. and the Tribe with a box containing a representative sample of the full Occom archive being transferred from 窪做惇蹋厙 Librarys to the Mohegan Cultural Preservation Center, as well as a commemorative glass bowl etched with the date of the days historic events.
In return, Gessner presented 窪做惇蹋厙 with a hand-beaded leather wampum belt, signifying the bond between the Mohegan people and 窪做惇蹋厙.
Purple and white wampum have different significances, Medicine Woman Melissa Tantaquidgeon Zobel said after the ceremony. Usually the purple means that there has been a history of conflict, and the white is a cleansing. So this is a joining of two peoples who have been in conflict but are now one in friendship.
At the end of the ceremony, Chief Many Hearts Lynn Malerba and Tantaquidgeon Zobel wrapped Hanlon in a blanket, a traditional ceremonial honor.
Honoring Occom
Occom undertook his transatlantic fundraising journey in 1766 at the behest of his former teacher, the Rev. Eleazar Wheelock, whom Occom believed was launching a school that would serve Native American students.
Though the voyage was an extraordinary successraising more than 瞿12,000 from donors in England, Scotland, and Wales, or the equivalent, according to the Tribe, of about $2.4 million todayOccom returned home to discover that Wheelocks priorities for the school had shifted to focus on white students, a fact that Occom experienced as a crushing disappointment, Hanlon said. (Some of the donors at the time agreed, withholding a portion of the total pledged funds in protest of Wheelocks changed mission.)
Indeed, between 1769 and 1970, 窪做惇蹋厙 graduated only 20 Native students. It wasnt until 1970 that then-President sought to turn this point of pain for Occom and, by extension, the Native community, into a point of pride, Hanlon said, noting that more than 1,200 Native American students have graduated from 窪做惇蹋厙 since then.
Understanding that the past could never be undone but that the future was ours to build, President Kemeny helped our beloved College take its first step toward righting the past, rededicating 窪做惇蹋厙 to advancing Native American education.
Part of this first step was the founding of what is now 窪做惇蹋厙s .
It has taken far too long for these papers to be returned to where theyve always belonged, but they are here now, accompanied by the spirit of Samson Occom that lives on in them, Hanlon said.
In her remarks, Harris described a recent conversation with other Indigenous alumni in which they each described a struggle to feel as if they truly belonged at 窪做惇蹋厙 as undergraduates.
The funds that established 窪做惇蹋厙 College were intended for the education of Indian peopleif anyone should feel as though they belong at 窪做惇蹋厙, its us, she said. Telling the truth of the Colleges founding honors and gives life to Occoms accomplishments and shows Native students that theyre foundational to the school and not just an afterthought. Truthespecially when its painful and difficultis the birthplace of real meaningful change.
Preparing the Archives
Zachary Miller, the cultural heritage and Indigenous knowledges fellow at the Hood Museum of Art and 窪做惇蹋厙 Library and a member of the Chickasaw Nation, worked closely with College Archivist Peter Carini to prepare Occoms papers for the Mohegans.
My favorite document is probably a letter Samson Occom wrote to his wife, Mary Occom, that documents his travels abroad, Miller said. Being new to 窪做惇蹋厙 and as an Indigenous person, its exciting for me to see the progress that 窪做惇蹋厙s been making with trying to reconcile its important histories.
, curator of Indigenous art at the Hood, called the repatriation of the Occom papers an incredible moment in 窪做惇蹋厙s history.
Describing the work of the team that helped prepare the physical documents for their return to Mohegan, she said, The most important thing that we learned through this process was that Mohegan people believe that when someone creates an object or writes something, part of their being is in that work. They see this as a homecoming of not just documents, but of a person. When the team understood that, it shifted the way we were thinking about the documents and really grounded our understanding of these materials in Indigenous ways of knowing.
The relationships built in this process hold the potential for future collaborations, she saysincluding opportunities to bring the works of historic and contemporary Mohegan artists into the Hoods collections.
A Day of Emotion
After the ceremony, members of the 窪做惇蹋厙 community said they felt they had witnessed a historic moment.
Today is a day of emotion, because Im so honored and pleased that we were able to witness history, this reconciliation between 窪做惇蹋厙 and one of our founding fathers, Samson Occom, said , the Samson Occom Professor of Native American and Indigenous Studies and one of nearly two dozen representatives from 窪做惇蹋厙s senior leadership, faculty, staff, trustees, and students attending the ceremony.
What I will always treasure is the sense of welcome and gratitude from the Mohegan people. As long as it took for 窪做惇蹋厙 to do the right thing, they welcomed us with such grace and such warmth and love.
Of hearing Hanlon describe the history of the betrayal Occom felt at the direction Wheelock took 窪做惇蹋厙, Trustee an enrolled member of the Navajo Nationsaid, Its invigorating and refreshing to hear the leader of our College speak the truth about our history. To hear him say that was empowering, and it made me feel like our voices matter and that we are a part of the 窪做惇蹋厙 story. And we can tell the full story, even the painful parts, but were stronger for it.
Members of the executive board of (NAD) were also on hand for the ceremony, and agreed that it was important 窪做惇蹋厙 had taken steps to acknowledge its debt to Occom.
Its amazing that I have this opportunity to be a witness to this event. For hundreds of years, the College has had these papers, and now theyre finally being returned, said Mikaila Ng 22, a Native Hawaiian, or Knaka Maoli, who is co-president of NAD. I hope that we can take this further and recognize Samson Occom as a co-founder of the College, and the contributions that he has made to creating this institution that were all benefiting from. And the work doesnt stop here.
It was meaningful and powerful, said Erin Bunner 22, a member of the Muscogee Nation, adding that the days events were helping to culminate her senior year on a really hopeful note.