The Mohegan and Pequot people of southeastern Connecticut
Connecting to the Sea for Centuries
The Mohegan and Pequot people of southeastern Connecticut and their ancestors have used the coastal resources of eastern Long Island Sound for thousands of years. Native people made ocean-going canoes to harvest fish, trade, and visit with their neighbors and relatives throughout the region.
The resources of Connecticut’s coastal waters allowed Native people to develop year-round villages thousands of years before agriculture. After European contact, quahog and whelk shells from local waters made into beads known as wampum quickly became central to the growing fur trade.
Native Americans continued to participate in New London’s maritime economy working on whaling, merchant, and naval vessels. More recently, the Mohegan and Pequot tribes have invested in maritime-related businesses such as the Pequot River Shipworks and the Mohegan Aquaculture project.
Marker is at the intersection of State Street and Bank Street, on the right when traveling west on State Street.
Courtesy hmdb.org
