The story of Brothertown begins with the story of Samson Occom, a Mohegan Indian who spoke fluent English and adopted the customs of Europeans of mid-17th century New England. Occom was ordained as a Presbyterian minister and spent three years in England raising money for the impoverished Natives of southeastern Connecticut and the surrounding areas. Upon his return in 1768, Occom found the funds diverted to other purposes including the founding of Dartmouth College in far away New Hampshire.
Seeing no future for Native Americans living in white society, Occom, Joseph Johnson, also a Mohegan, and others brought together members of seven Algonquin speaking tribes—Misquamicut, Narragansett, Niatic, Eastern Pequot, Mashantucket Pequot, Tunxis, and Mohegan—to form a new ethnic group known as the Brothertown Tribe, thereby resulting in the ethnogenesis of a new Indian tribe. They received a grant of land from the Oneidas in central New York and migrated there to begin a new life. When the Natives were pushed out of New York in the early 1800s, the Brothertown people migrated again, this time to Lake Winnebago in Wisconsin, where they remain today.
In this compelling study, Craig Cipolla, a historical archaeologist at the University of Leicester, utilizes historical archaeology, including gravestone studies, to tell the story. He focuses not only on the captivating story of the Brothertown people, but also examines the larger issues involved in colonial archaeology and the creation of new ethnic identities. His close examination of gravestones is a major contribution to archaeological method.
Becoming Brothertown is a significant contribution to historical archaeology and the study of ethnic identities. It adds an archaeological element to the history of an important Native American movement and provides both professionals and amateurs with a compelling story.
