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Mohican History and Culture
Educator Resource

The Stockbridge-Munsee Community created a curriculum to teach us about the tribe's history through their own lens. This website serves as a supplemental resource to help more people gain access to the curriculum. The historical content has been taken directly from the original document entitled The Mohican People--Their Lives and Their Lands, created by Dorothy Davids as well as from the Stockbride-Munsee Community's official website, www.Mohican.com.

Overview

How to use this resource

The images in the white rows are links to chronological narratives about Mohican history and available for you to borrow as a panel exhibit from the Sheffield Historical Society.

The images in the black rows, labeled "activities," are links to the original curriculum,

local resources, and project examples. 

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Methodology

Teachers in the Berkshires have embraced the Standard Model of Indigenous Learning (SMIL) developed by Dr. Sandra Barton of the Stockbridge-Munsee Community. Through professional development and practice, we aim to teach indigenous studies with indigenous mindsets. For insight into the evolution of this idea and to collaborate further, please visit my blog post entited "Genius Loci." 

Lessons

Lessons

Click on the images to learn more.

Background: The Muh-he-con-ne-ok

Activities Click on the objects below to access lesson plans. 

The Muh-he-con-ne-ok and the coming of the Europeans

Activities Click on the fox to take a virtual walking tour of Main Street in Stockbridge, Massachusetts.

Activities Click on the objects below to access lesson plans. 

Moving and moving again

Activities Click the image below to read the treaty with the Stockbridge-Munsee.

Activities Click on the objects below to access lesson plans. 

Life today for the Mohicans

Resources

In their words

Activitiy: Click the link below to see instructions for the altered book project for grades 6-12.

Activitiy: Click the link below to see instructions for the Hexagon Project

Additional Resources

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The official website of the Stockbridge-Munsee Community

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History of the Mohican People- mapped

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Culturally relevant resources for classroom teachers

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Interviews with citizens of the Mohican Nation, June 2021

Click the objects above to listen to members of the Stockbridge-Munsee Community

Interviews

Land Acknowledgement 

Southern Berkshire Regional School District

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It is with gratitude and humility that we acknowledge that we are learning, speaking, and gathering on the ancestral homelands of the Muhheaconneok or Mohican people, who are the indigenous peoples of this land. Despite tremendous hardship in being forced from here, today their community resides in Wisconsin and is known as the Stockbridge-Munsee Community. 

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We honor their ancestors by acknowledging their contributions, generosity, and sacrifices, and continuously aim to better understand and integrate their history into school curricula. We acknowledge the lens through which curriculum has been created is biased, and our district is making a sincere effort to create balance. We created a Professional Learning Community (PLC) that focuses on culturally responsive pedagogy and practices and offers continuous professional development to teachers for learning and understanding. Within the PLC, the topics discussed fall into a “justice continuum,” where injustice is at one end and encompasses oppression, racism, ableism, sexism, etc., and social justice is at the other end, with empowerment, activism, and agencies of change. 

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We acknowledge that the place names of our rivers, towns, roads, and landmarks have significant meaning to the Stockbridge Munsee Community. Our district includes lessons about Mohican culture from time immemorial to present day, historical leaders and sachems, and language, so these places are not named in vain, but known, understood, and respected. These lessons are carried out from Kindergarten through 12th grade in both classroom and community contexts. We draw our understanding from the Mohican People curriculum, written by members of the Stockbridge Munsee Community, as well as their website, Mohican.com.

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We understand that our privilege has allowed us to live and learn here as a result of broken promises, unfair negotiations, and racist mindsets. Our goal is to make reparations for the unjust actions of the past, by building partnerships with the children of the Stockbridge Munsee Community. Through mutual school exchanges, we can create common learning goals and experiences. Our district supports teachers’ initiatives to forge these partnerships as well as collaborate with local experts to strengthen curriculum, and share learning with our local community.

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We show respect to the Mohican descendents by engaging with their living culture, which has endured the repercussions of the westward diaspora. Our student-led club, the Social Justice League, addresses the need for awareness, visibility, and advocacy. They utilize resources of local cultural organizations and create public events that support the Stockbridge Munsee Community in solidarity.

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The Southern Berkshire Regional School District has made and will continue to make progress regarding restorative justice practices in education. We commit to building connections, understandings, and partnerships to provide a more inclusive and equitable space for all.

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Website created by Stephanie Graham, 2021

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