Description
"History Talk: 50 Years in an Indian Town: Reflections on the Stockbridge Experience." Bonney Hartley, the Tribal Historic Preservation Officer of the Stockbridge-Munsee Community Band of Mohicans, July 25, 2015, sponsored by the Bidwell House Museum.
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History Talk:
50 Years in an Indian Town: Reflections on the Stockbridge Experience
Saturday, July 25th, 10 a.m.
Details below
50 Years in an Indian Town: Reflection on the Stockbridge Experience
Bonney Hartley, the Tribal Historic Preservation Officer of the Stockbridge-Munsee Community Band of Mohicans, will give a talk on Saturday, July 25th addressing the Mohicans’ time in Stockbridge from the perspective of the tribe today. Hartley’s talk will focus on how the short time living in Stockbridge – from 1735 to 1785 -- forever changed the tribe, and how they carry many of the lessons or consequences from that experience with them as a tribe today in Wisconsin. Hartley’s talk is part of the Bidwell House Museum History Talks series.
The Mohican people hunted in the Housatonic River valley for generations before Europeans arrived in the area. In the early 1700s Mohicans established villages along the Housatonic. With the arrival of missionary John Sergeant in 1734 and other English peoples, life changed dramatically for the Mohicans. There were new experiences in education, Christianity, and the economy. The tribe itself became amalgamated, taking in refugee populations and accepting Munsees and Wappingers into a new, blended identity as Stockbridge-Munsee Mohicans. The tribe continued its tradition of diplomacy, but the relationships became increasingly litigious. By the 1780s, the Mohicans suffered staggering land dispossessions and were forced to move again, among the Oneida in western New York State, then to Indiana and finally Wisconsin, where the tribe lives today.
Bonney Hartley is working for the tribe in the Albany and Berkshire region in historic preservation. She is an enrolled member of Stockbridge-Munsee Mohican Nation in Wisconsin. Bonney holds a B.A. from Hanover College and a Masters of Social Science from the University of Cape Town, South Africa.
The Bidwell House Museum History Talks are held at Tyringham Union Church, Main Road, Tyringham at 10 a.m. There is a suggested contribution of $15/$10 for members of the museum.
Bidwell House Museum Upcoming Programs
July 25
History Talk: 50 Years in an Indian Town: Reflection on the Stockbridge Experience.Bonney Hartley, Tribal Historic Preservation Officer and member of the Stockbridge-Munsee Community Band of Mohicans, will talk about how the short time living in Stockbridge (1735-85) forever changed the tribe. She will present how they carry many of the lessons or consequences from that experience with them as a tribe today in Wisconsin. Held at Tyringham Union Church, Main Road, Tyringham. 10 am
