The Western Mohegan Tribe and Nation has been widely recognized by the federal government (including the White House and the Secretary of the Army) for its participation in the American Heritage Rivers Initiative and praised specifically for its successful nomination of the Hudson River to be one of the first ten rivers designated under this program.

Recognition for the Chief Golden Eagle (Ron Roberts) has also come from many New York school districts for his efforts to bring Native American cultural programs to New York students.

The Bloodline
All members of the Western Mohegan Tribe and Nation must claim their Native American ancestry through either genealogical documentation and/or DNA tests. Over the years, a number of doctors have conducted studies of DNA tests from samples of the tribal members. Dr. Steven J. Mack, a biologist at the Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute in Alameda, California, reviewed and confirmed the data of the characteristics of Western Mohegan tribal members. He found that Native American people could be easily identified because they lacked specific alleles (a form of a gene) and antigens found in the blood of the rest of the world’s population.

The Tribal Future
In 2001, the Western Mohegan Tribe and Nation obtained the title for the Tamarack Hotel complex, better known as the once famous Catskills resort in Greenfield Park, New York. The Mohegan once utilized this area for hunting, trapping and trading, and also to make war and negotiate peace agreements. The Tribe acquired this property from the County of Ulster, in part as a settlement of aboriginal claims, and the Tribe was declared to be a “sovereign nation.” The land was also given the status of “Indian Country.”

The Tribe has made substantial plans for the property, including establishing it as a governmental, economic, cultural and residential base. The tribal office has been relocated there. The cultural center and Museum will be opened in the Spring of 2008, displaying the history of the Muh-hea-kun-nuk. Some tribal members have already moved to the location and it’s expected that many more families will relocate there as well, reestablishing the tribal homeland.

Our tribe thanks Dr. Michael Lawson for his, Historical Profile of the Western Mohegan Tribe and Nation. Dr. Lawson has his Ph. D in American history, and has conducted research on Native American history for over 30 years. We have used his work sited above as the basis for this synopsis of our history.