The Mohican People

The Eastern Woodlands is an area of land that stretches from Lake Superior to the Atlantic Coast in what is now the United States and Canada.

The landscape of the Eastern Woodlands used to be mostly forest. Most people lived in clearings near creeks, rivers, lakes, or ponds between forested areas. There was plenty of wood for building and for fuel. There were many big and small animals and birds to hunt. There was almost a year-round supply of fish. There were a lot of roots, berries, and nuts to collect.

Many Native American tribes lived in the Eastern Woodlands area for thousands and thousands of years. One tribe of Eastern Woodlands Native Americans is the Mohicans, also known as the Mahicans. Their name comes from Muh-he-con-ne-ok, a word in their language that means great water that is always moving, either flowing or ebbing. The Mohicans are related to the Lenni Lenape people. Stories passed down for many years tell about the Mohican tribe crossing over the water that gave them their name. This water, said the legend, was far in the north. There, two lands were nearly connected. Then the Mohican people traveled east. They crossed many rivers. Through their travels, they came together and mixed with other tribes. Finally, they found a place that seemed like home. It was the valley of what is known today as the Hudson River.

In the past, Mohican life was centered around the rich lands of the Eastern Woodlands. They used the trees around them for building. They farmed corn, beans and squash. They fished and hunted animals like black bears and wild turkeys. They gathered berries and nuts in the forests around them. They made maple syrup. The Mohican people also made many things from the land around them. They carved tools and containers from wood. They made weapons, baskets, pottery, clothing, and much more. As their territory grew, they also built a relationship with the Munsee, a tribe related to Lenni Lenape people. Their languages and lifestyles were similar.

In the 1600s, European explorers arrived in the Eastern Woodlands. They introduced new germs and diseases to the area, which the Mohican people were not used to. Their bodies had a hard time fighting the diseases and many died. Europeans also changed the way the tribe used the land. The Mohican people stopped making many traditional items, like tools and weapons, because they could just buy them from Europeans. The Europeans also claimed areas of land and put up fences. This was something that the Mohican people were not used to, and their farming, hunting, and gathering suffered.

In the years that followed, settlers from different places and, eventually, the U.S. government forced the Mohican people to move from place to place. Multiple times, the Mohican people would attempt to rebuild in a new area, then be forced to move yet again. Their lands, culture, and people suffered each time they moved. Eventually, they moved into the area now known as Wisconsin. Once the Mohican people settled in Wisconsin, a group of Munsee people also moved to the area and joined their community.

The Mohican people are known today as the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican Indians. They are a sovereign nation with a reservation in Wisconsin. Many tribe members live on or near the reservation, as well as other parts of the U.S. and the world. The reservation continues to grow, with rich forests, government buildings, businesses, and much more.

The Navajo, the Apache, and the Comanche in the American Southwest

For tens of thousands of years, some Indigenous peoples in North America have migrated. Some moved to follow game. Some moved because the climate changed. Some moved to find more or better land. Others were driven away by enemies. Whenever people move, they bring some things with them. They leave other things behind.

The Navajo

Scientists say that the Navajo (/nah*vah*hoe/) migrated from what is now northern Canada to what is now the southwestern United States. They think this move happened by the end of the 1500s.

In the Navajo language, they call themselves Diné (/dih*nah/), meaning the people. Scientists studied the Navajo language and the languages of other Indigenous peoples. They believe the Navajo language is linked to the language of the Athabaskans. The Athabaskans are an Indigenous people that live in Alaska and Canada. The scientists believe the Navajo and Athabaskans share the same ancestors, but the Navajo don't believe this. The Navajo believe the American Southwest is the home of their ancestors. They have been telling stories about their ancestors in the Southwest for generations.

In the Southwest, the Navajo fought with the Pueblo, an Indigenous people who had lived in the Southwest for thousands of years. But the Navajo also learned from the Pueblo. They learned how to survive in the harsh climate of the high desert. For example, the Navajo often used adobe to build their homes. Adobe, a type of brick made from sun-dried clay, was used by the Pueblo to build their homes. Unlike the Pueblo, they built individual domed houses in small, scattered groups. The Pueblo built villages in several different styles, including houses in cliffs.

The Spanish first brought sheep to the Southwest in the 1600s. As a result, raising sheep became a big part of the Navajo way of life. The Navajo became more settled. They used fleece from their sheep to spin wool and weave blankets and rugs. Still known for their weaving skills today, the Navajo make up the largest Native American nation in the United States.

The Apache and the Comanche

Like the Navajo, scientists also say the Apache (/uh*pach*ee/) migrated from northern Canada to the Southwest by the end of the 1500s. The scientists think the Apache traveled along the eastern side of the Rocky Mountains. Apache territory covered parts of present-day Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and northern Mexico.

The Apache hunted and traded. Later, after the Spanish brought horses to America, the Apache learned how to ride the new animals. Horses made it easier for the Apache to hunt and to raid rival Navajo villages, as well as to attack Spanish forts.

Among the Indigenous peoples in the American Southwest, the Comanche (/kuh*man*chee/) were the only people more powerful than the Apache. In the 1600s and 1700s, the Comanche successfully gained Apache land and pushed the Apache farther west. Because of this, the Apache finally had to make peace with their enemies, the Spaniards. They needed Spanish protection from the Comanche. On a hot summer’s day in 1749, four Apache chiefs and their followers met with Spanish missionaries in San Antonio, Texas. There the Apache turned over their weapons. In a ceremony of peace, the Apache and the Europeans “buried the hatchet.” This meant that they agreed to stop fighting with each other. Some people use the expression “bury the hatchet” when they agree to stop arguing with someone.

Unfortunately, the fighting did not stop there. The Europeans and their descendants did not leave the Apache alone, and not all the Apache made peace. All through the 1800s, the Apache were at war with other Indigenous people and with various settlers. They fought against people from Spain, Mexico, and finally the United States. One of the most famous Apache leaders was Geronimo, who fought to save his people’s land.

Today, several Apache communities live in the southwestern United States. The Comanche mostly live in Oklahoma.