November is Native American Heritage Month and Connecticut is home to several indigenous tribes, including the Mashantucket’s Pequot Tribal Nation. The tribe operates the Mashantucket Pequot Museum, which explores Native American history.
November is Native American Heritage Month and Connecticut is home to several indigenous tribes, including the Mashantucket’s Pequot Tribal Nation. The tribe operates the Mashantucket Pequot Museum, which explores Native American history.
“Native people first and foremost are still here,” said the museum’s executive director, Joshua Carter. “A lot of times we get stuck in the history section or social studies, but we’ve made many, many contributions.”
On Wednesday, Tribe Chairman Rodney Butler and Carter welcomed Lieutenant Governor Susan Bysiewicz to the museum where they gave her a tour of the facility and discussed the relationship between indigenous people and the State of Connecticut.
Get top local stories in Connecticut delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC Connecticut's News Headlines newsletter.
“It’s important for us to have this conversation with the Lieutenant Governor because we are looking for allyship,” said Carter. “We have an opportunity for us to really share this history.”
Butler says he’s proud and humbled to be indigenous and wishes people knew more about their communities.
“Everybody knows us because of our enterprise and the success of the casino,” he said. “But they don’t know a lot about us as people.”
The Pequot Tribal Nation is small federally recognized indigenous tribe that has lived in Connecticut for thousands of years. Butler referred to its lands as ground zero for colonization, citing the Pequot War.
“What happened here at Mashantucket is a story that was replicated throughout colonization,” said Butler. “And essentially a decimation of Indian country and so this story tells that.”
Local
As of July 2023, Connecticut now requires schools teach Native American studies as part of its school districts’ curriculum.
