William H. Cogswell was a Schaghticoke tribal member whose family lived in Cornwall, Connecticut. His father Nathan was a noted stonemason. On June 22, 1861, just two months after the attack on Fort Sumter that marked the beginning of the Civil War, William enlisted in the Union Army as a private in the 5th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry.1 He was only 22 years old. According to military historian David Naumec, Cogswell may have been the first Connecticut Indian to have done so. LEARN MORE

The families have left the Egremont area, but their essence, structures and names remain. LEARN MORE

Several leaders emerged from the Stockbridge Mohicans, including members of the Yokun and Mtohksin families. “The man who would become head sachem arrived in the 1740s and began to hold office in Stockbridge,” according to Patrick Frazier. Then in his 60s, he was Benjamin Kokhkewaunaunt, often called King Ben, father of David Naunauneekanuk, who was grandfather of John W. Quinney. LEARN MORE

Massachusetts‐born John Metoxsin (1770‐1858) received a Moravian education in Pennsylvania and rejoined his Stockbridge Mohican tribe after members relocated to New York in 1785. He led some of his people to Indiana in 1818‐1819, then in 1822 to Missouri, then to Kansas, and then to Wisconsin. He succeeded Hendrick Aupaumut as sachem. Known as an eloquent speaker, he is buried in the Stockbridge Indian Cemetery near Stockbridge, Wisc. LEARN MORE

The General Allotment Act, also called the Dawes Severalty Act, was enacted by U.S. Congress in 1887. It authorized the granting of citizenship to American Indians (exempting those of the Five Civilized Tribes) who accepted allotments and lived separately from their tribes. The aim was to ease poverty among Native Americans. LEARN MORE

Charles Cornelius Coffin Painter (1832‐1895) was an ordained minister, educator and advocate for minority rights. LEARN MORE

John Rollin Ridge, America’s first Native American wordsmith of professional stature, was educated in Great Barrington. Born in the Cherokee Nation in Rome, Ga., in 1827, Ridge’s given name was “Chees‐quat‐a‐law‐ ny,” or Yellow Bird. LEARN MORE