Renape
Muhheakunneyuk (Mohicans)

Society and Culture
Homo Politicus

The Mohicans formerly lived in Hudson Valley in eastern New York State. There were no noble savages living in the northeastern part of what is today United States, or in any other corner of this planet for that matter. Just ordinary people trying to live their ordinary lives according to the unwritten social rules of behavior and action that govern how humans live in the societies of the world. In this part of America there was no urge for material accumulation, only a few tools could be owned privately while the rest was a collective ownership of the clan, village and sometimes the ethnic group as a whole. Wars and political ambition was however no new thing and groups fought over and killed each other just like anywhere else. Wars of expulsion, extermination and survival were not unknown but they were rare. Alliances were formed and broken, tribes were defeated and victorious and tribute was extorted from defeated tribes to benefit the victor. But there was one power struggle that is of interest here and that was between the Algonquian- and Iroquoian-speakers. The Mohican participation in this power struggle is a unique aspect and to understand it better I will analyze it by using Bailey's game theory (1969). And how the Mohicans used political encapsulation against others and, also in the end, fell themselves victims to this practice. In the 18th and 19th century dramatic changes were occurring in Mohican society. These changes were in accordance to principles inherit in both the modernization theory as well as the dependency theory.

Once upon a time...

In 1609 the Dutch and the Mohicans met for the first time when the English captain Henry Hudson, working for the Dutch East India Company, sailed up what later became known as the Hudson River. Hudson's ship, the Half Moon, was manned by a Dutch-English crew that had forced Hudson to alter his route and sail west instead of north, as he originally intended, in search of an easier sailing route to China. The Mohicans treated the strange-looking guests with the hospitality that was customary, and probably a little better than that. News had spread very fast among native peoples of the northeast of the mixed blessing that these odd-looking strangers gave their hosts. Rumors about powerful new weapons made of a material the natives had never seen before and which could bring an enormous advantage in warfare with hostile tribes, was mixed with stories about the appalling atrocities committed by some of these strangers against the natives along the coast. It is evident that the Mohicans had heard both of these versions because their village had been emptied of women and children before the Dutch were allowed on shore. A trading deal was very soon made between the two parties and in 1617 the Dutch established their first trading post on Mohican land, Fort Nassau. Both parties profited from the trading, the Dutch acquired precious skins to sell on European markets and the Mohicans got weapons and metal tools that they could use to gain an advantage over their enemies as well as to become a more powerful trading intermediary between the hunters of the north and the agriculturalists of the south. From the very beginning Dutch relations with the Indians was given high priority and the most important task of the Dutch director-general was to maintain peaceful relations with the Indians and to treat them fairly. This policy was not developed from respect or love for the Indians; rather, it was seen as the most effective way to further company interests. Although land acquisition was not in the beginning a primary concern, the Dutch soon realized that gaining a legal title to a land would further the company interests. Buying up a valuable land was thus conducted in a legal manner according to the principles of European concepts of land ownership. This however contrasted sharply with native ideas of land "ownership" which centered around usufruct rights and living spaces. Owning a land was unknown to them and as ludicrous as claiming to own the air one breaths everyday. To add to this cultural misunderstanding, the prohibition of selling guns to neighboring Indians combined with repeated disease epidemics that decimated the natives and their communities, kindled a growing resentment towards the Dutch.

The gradual incursion of Dutch, British, French and other Europeans and their need for large quantities of furs caused radical changes in Native American societies and tribal relationships from the 16th century onward. At this time period the Mohicans were embroiled in a war with their westerly neighbors, the Iroquoian-speaking Mohawks and their allies in the Iroquois League, over the western bank of Hudson River. Conflicts between the two had ceased before the coming of the Dutch traders but the huge advantages that metal tools and guns gave over traditional weapons led to an arms race and war commenced again between them. The conflict was probably more intense now when the arms race and trade relations poured oil on an existing fire of war and hatred. To acquire the new revolutionary goods the Mohawks demanded free access through Mohican lands to the Dutch trading post, without the goods the Mohawks would surely loose out to the Mohicans. For the Mohicans the situation was similar, but the trading post location gave them an edge over their eternal foes the Mohawks. To avoid war and get a profit from the situation the Mohicans allowed the Mohawks access to the trading post with the condition that the Mohawks pay them tribute. The Mohawks were hard-pressed and had no choice other than grudgingly accept these conditions. Meanwhile the Mohicans had established trade relations with the Algonquins in Ottawa Valley that still further weakened Mohawk power in the region since the two were sworn enemies. The Mohicans had steadily increased their influence and power among their neighbors due to their favorable trading situation. In 1624 the Mohawks with the backing of their allies in the Iroquois League (Senecas, Cayugas, Onondagas and Oneidas) attacked the Mohicans and after a hard and bitter conflict the Mohawks in 1628 finally got the upper hand and compelled the Mohicans to surrender to them control over the west bank of Hudson River. Although the Mohicans had to give up their control over the west bank they didn't loose their territorial claim over the area as can be clearly seen in land sales to Dutch settlers years later. The Mohawks had now free access to the new Dutch trading post at Fort Orange (Albany) and over the years made excellent use of that advantage to establish and build with their allied nations a very powerful Iroquois League that dominated the northeastern part of present-day U.S. for over two centuries. Though defeated, the Mohicans, unlike most other nations which the Iroquois killed off, assimilated or drove off their land, had managed to hold on to most of their land and considerable political influence. However, their time of power was soon eroding away due to negative influences on their society of living so close to Dutch and English settlements.

Fort Nassau was the first Dutch fort built in the upper Hudson Valley in 1617. The fort served mainly as a trading post.

When Henry Hudson first arrived in Hudson Valley in 1609 the Mohicans were living in villages where extended families of 30-36 persons in each longhouse was the main focus of every-day existence. Part of the year the extended families broke up into nuclear families that were scattered around the land harvesting fruits and salmon. Descent among the Mohicans was matrilineal and residence was matrilocal. Marriages were exogamous, the daughters brought their husbands into their matrilineal clan. Poligyny was apparently practiced mainly by chiefs and sachems. The villages were as said before the main focus of every-day activity and one's identity seems to have centered around the clan and village first and foremost, a wider reaching vague identity had a common language, culture and history as defining factors. Unlike the Munsee-speaking groups south of them and other Algonquian-speaking societies east of them, the Mohicans seem to have been better politically organized with a centralized power figure commanding more authority. Their identity as Mohicans seems also to have been a larger part of their social structure than was customary among other Algonquians. Land-use, with the valley and it's watershed as defining markers between groups and every-day decision making was based on the clan with the leader of each clan, the sachem, having the last say over village matters. Among the Iroquois the women of each clan had the power to appoint and depose sachems and in effect supervised that sachems didn't abuse their authority. Evidence points to the same custom among the Mohicans. Each village had it's own land-base to farm with villages as well as farming plots regularly rotated to allow the land to regenerate and become fertile again. While men hunted women took care of farming the land with farming producing the main-stay of the food.

Brasser (1974:6-7) says that from around 1100 population increased because of improved techniques and increased reliance on horticulture. This development also led to increase in warfare throughout the region which Brasser explains as either being caused by population pressures in more fertile areas or decreased economic importance of males and their work in food-providing.

The Mohican political system can be classified into what anthropology calls chiefdoms with the chief counsel having the highest authority with the Chief Sachem (Wigowwauw) as it's leader. The main village in the 17th and 18th century and the center of political life of the nation was Schodac. The Chief Sachem held the highest authority in his hands, he was the nation's representative and guarantied the nation's well-being. The sachem's position was hereditary in the female line and to be acknowledged as a sachem he had to be married to the daughter of the former sachem and be accepted by the chiefs and the people. To assist the sachem were other officials (Woh'weet'quau'pee'chee). The Hero (Moquaupauw) took care of warfare but to be able to wage a war the chief counsel had to declare it so it would be legitimate. When war had been declared the matters were put into the hands of the Hero that took responsibility for all tactical decision making to get a satisfactory conclusion, just like generals do in today's armies. The Hero must have earned his position by valor in the battlefield. The Owl (Mkhook'que'thoth) was charged with remembering all decisions and deals undertaken by the counsel, besides being a spokesman for the sachem and being in charge of daily routines of the people. The Messenger (Un'nuh'kau'kun) took care of running with messages between villages and calling the Chief Counsel together. Other advisers to the sachem were ordinary chiefs that were the heads of the clans and families, their duties were to counsel the sachem on matters relating to peace and prosperity of the people (Ruttenber 1872: 42-43). As with the sachems the chief's position was a hereditary succession in the female line (Brasser 1974: 9).

This implies that Mohican political system was ranked, each official having his prescriptive authority ranked in accordance with other officials in the system. Respect and importance of each official showed their rank. The sachems and chiefs were elders that were trusted with their responsibility because of earned wisdom shown by their conduct in the society, they were the best of the best that each family and clan could muster. The families and the clans were not on equal bases with each other, some were more equal than others. This of course can be seen in some families and clans basically 'owning' an official position. The Mohican political system was however not as ranked and strict as among the Narragansetts and the Massachusetts-Wampanoags in New England (Brasser 1974: 9). Though men were the official authority figures in Mohican politics, women had tremendous power as those who appointed and deposed leaders on behalf of the matrilineal clan. They were in reality those that had both power and authority over family and clan matters, the very same foundation for the men's official position and the bases of the nation's political system. Women could also become chiefs and sachems and could then have both authority and power. The sexes had thus more equal social status than is customary among other people's on this planet.

Fort Orange or Albany was established in 1624 on Hudson River's eastern bank.

On matters that affected the nation as a whole, representatives from all the villages had a seat in the Chief Counsel and participated in the decision making, and in the end had to agree on a right course of action. But for the decisions to become legitimate, the people must also give their consent. When that final step was reached all the people must abide by that decision and to prevent violations by individuals strict discipline was used. This gave a certain supervision to the rulers power because every individual was his own master and could not be forced to do anything he wouldn't do or disagreed on. However when the families and clans exercised it's power and a decision was made individuals were not allowed to disobey.

Mohican society was probably geographically divided by clan affiliations that were named after totem animals, Tooksetuk (Wolf), Tonebao (Turtle) and Turkey. These clans were similar to their Munsee-speaking neighbors south of them but differed from the Iroquoian-speaking Mohawks in that the Bear clan replaced the Mohican Turkey clan.

After 1610 great changes were underway in Mohican society that were caused by various reasons. To acquire the skins that were the means of barter with the Dutch, hunting took up more and more time of men's economic activity. The Mohicans were also getting ever more dependent on European trade goods when for example iron pots largely replaced the more fragile clay pots. The increasing need for skins meant over hunting exhausted the hunting grounds. That led to people getting more dispersed around the country and villages became smaller, 3-16 longhouses in each village. The political system became more decentralized and national decision making became ever more difficult. This led to a gradual disintegration of the former effective political structure.

Around 1640 game had become so scarce in Mohican territory that they were unable to bring to the trading post the amount of skin they needed to fulfill their need for European goods. To solve this problem they, armed with guns, attacked their Munsee-speaking neighbors to the south who lived on the east bank of Hudson River and forced them to pay them a early tribute of skins and wampum. This tribute was then used to buy from the Dutch traders the commodities the Mohicans needed.

Mohican position towards the Mohawks was remarkably good considering the fate of other Indians the Mohawks and their allies had waged war upon. Formally the Mohicans were addressed as Comrades instead of Children as all the other neighboring Algonquian-speaking groups around them that the Mohawks regularly terrorized. This formal address and the relative respect it implies seems to have survived the Mohican defeat in the War of 1624-28. Brasser (1974: 18) implies that the Mohicans and the Mohawks had formed an agreement or at least an understanding that maintained the position the Mohicans had traditionally had among the nations of the Northeast. Officially the Mohicans respected that agreement but behind the curtain they sought to get a revenge and undermine Mohawk power in the region. One aspect of this is that in 1660 they had secretly rebuilt their former influence among the northern Algonquian-speaking tribes. This increase in Mohican power did however not long evade the attention of the Mohawks and in 1662 they attacked the Mohicans but were thoroughly defeated with their advance broken and thrown back.

In 1664 the Dutch surrendered Nieuw Niederlandt to the English after a brief siege to Nieuw Amsterdam. That revolutionized the political situation in the area, power balances crumbled or went up side down, but on the whole, marked the finale in Algonquian power and an empire building by the Iroquois. In the end the enforcers of what later became known as Manifest Destiny, had either cleared the original inhabitants completely off the land or reduced them to long suffering minorities who often hid their identity from the surrounding society just to survive. While the Dutch had been satisfied mainly with trading with the Indians, the English regarded Euro-American settlement as it's primary responsibility and trading with the Indians as minor activity of the frontier settlements that would disappear in a short time. This change in emphasis made the Indian tribes almost powerless, while they were mostly in the way of the rapidly expanding settlements, the English sometimes found use for them as a barrier against French incursions from the north or as expandable canon-fodder in their struggle with the French in Quebec. English behavior and attitude expressed itself well in their negotiations with the Indians. Enormous culture change, with for example increased English interference in Mohican affairs as well as the dividing up of Mohican country into counties, added to growing demoralization and loss of cohesion in social life. Euro-American colonist were also crowding them out of Hudson Valley and into still vacant lands in the Housatonic Valley. The failed attack by a combined force of Mohicans and New England Indians into Mohawk territory in 1669, marked the end of Mohican resistance to Iroquois power and led to a declining importance with their dealings with the English colonial authorities. Because of the hostilities with the Mohawks the Mohicans were forced to move their chief village to Hosuatonic Valley (Brasser 1974).

Although Mohican political power had been drastically cut, they could still rely on their traditional standing and respect among other Indian nations of the Northeast (Brasser 1974: 23). After a peace deal had been signed with the Mohawks in 1675, Mohican groups began emigrating from Hudson Valley to Ohio Valley and the Great Lakes area. This emigration continued and slowly helped in draining away what was left of Mohican power in Hudson Valley.

Upp úr 1700 var svo komið að völd Mahicananna og áhrif á norðaustursvæðinu fóru hraðminnkandi, ásamt því sem að þeim fækkaði mikið vegna drykkjuskapar, sjúkdóma, minnkandi siðferðis, styrjalda og brottflutnings vegna ágangs hvítra landnema á landsvæði þeirra í Hudson dal. Árin 1734 og 1740 hófu trúboðar starf sitt í þorpum þeirra Mahicana sem eftir voru. Þessir trúboðar drógu síðan saman síðustu leifar Mahicananna í sérstök trúboðsþorp sem þeir fluttu þá síðan frá, nokkrum árum seinna, vestur á bóginn og þar meðút úr hinu stjórnmálalega leiksviði á svæðinu. Með trúboðsþorpunum var endapunkturinn sleginn á sjálfstæði Mahicananna gagnvart Englendingum og urðu þeir fullkomlega á valdi þeirra þaðan í frá.

Fyrir utan þá valdabaráttu sem að ofan er talin stuðluðu aðrir þættir að minnkandi áhrifum þeirra og spilar þar kannski stærst inn í hin gífurlega neikvæðu áhrif sem farsóttir höfðu á samfélag þeirra, þegar allt að 90% þjóðarinnar deyr á innan við 100 árum hljóta einhverjar breytingar að verða, bæði á samfélagsskipan þeirra og ytri áhrifum.

Homo Politicus

Brasser heldur því fram, að meiriháttar breytingar hafi orðið á stjórnkerfi Mahicananna til aðlögunar að því miðstýrða kerfi sem Hollendingar þekktu í sínu heimalandi, þ. e. stjórnkerfi Mahicananna hafi strax orðið miðstýrðara og meira vald hafi verið fært til eins höfðingja og hann gerður að yfirsachem, auk þess sem að önnur embætti hafi verið búin til til að aðstoða hann við samskiptin við Hollendingana (Brasser, 1974: 28). Þessu get ég ekki verið sammála. Ýmsar heimildir eru fyrir hendi um að þetta stjórnkerfi hafi verið við lýði fyrir
komu Hollendinga og má þar telja ýmislegt til: 1) Þegar Hollendingar komu í fyrsta sinn upp Hudson ána skýrðu þeir frá flókinni samfélags- og stjórnmálaskipan meðal þeirra (Dunn, 1994: 19), 2) helstu nágrannar þeirra Iroquoisarnir höfðu á þessum tíma velþróað stjórnmálakerfi sem Mahicanarnir hafa meðal annars leitað fyrirmyndar í, 3) það vel þróaða og virka stjórnmálakerfi sem var við lýði hjá þeim ber vitni um töluverðan þróunaraldur, 4) til að hafa yfirumsjón með bandalagi 4 þjóða (Mahican, Catskill, Mechkentowoon og Wiekagjoc) hefur óhjákvæmilega þurft einhvers konar miðstýringu, 5) þær efnahagslegu breytingar sem urðu á samfélagi Mahicananna, með viðskiptunum við Hollendingana, gróf undan stjórnmálakerfi þeirra en styrkti það ekki, þ. e. í stað hinna hefðbundnu stóru þorpa, sem auðvelduðu miðstýrða stjórnun, tóku við smærri þorp sem einmitt dreifði valdinu og gerðiþví höfðingjaráðinu erfiðara um vik að stjórna (Dunn, 1994: 76), 6) þó svo að áhrif Hollendinga hafi verið mikil á efnahagskerfi Mahicananna er ekki þar með sagt að stjórnmálakerfið hafi breyst líka því að öll þeirra samskipti fóru fram, að því er virðist, á jafnréttisgrundvelli.

Það leiksvið sem Hollendingar stigu inn í þegar þeir sigldu upp Hudson fljót var leiksvið sem var búið að vera við líði í mörg ár. Þeirra hlutverk varð hins vegar strax nokkuð stórt ogáhrifaríkt á það sjónarspil sem var í gangi á svæðinu. Með tilkomu þeirra kom þriðja aðalhlutverkið í togstreitu Mahicananna og Mohawkanna, hlutverk, sem þrátt fyrir að vera nokkuð hlutlaust, varð síðar til þess að Mahicanarnir töpuðu því pólitíska reiptogi sem þeir áttu í við Mohawkana.

Fyrir komu Hollendinga var aðeins eitt markmið eða verðlaun, sem þátttakendur deildu um en það var yfirráð yfir vesturbakka Hudson ár. Með tilkomu hollensku kaupmannanna bættust ný markmið við, sem fljótlega ýttu hinu fyrra til hliðar en það var járn- og verslunarvara Evrópubúanna. Reglurnar í þessum leik voru formlega séð gildisreglur (normative rules) en þær reglur sem skiluðu mestum árangri voru samt sem áður gagnsemisreglur (pragmatic rules) því án þeirra hefði biðstaða skapast í leiknum. Það að drepa alla íbúa óvinaþorps, eins og tíðkaðist í þeirra hernaði, byggist ekki á gildisreglunum heldur á því að svindla og beita gagnsemisreglunum, markmiðið er að skjóta óvininum skelk í bringu. Það að svindla og beita gagnsemisreglunum er samt sem áður hluti af leiknum, báðir aðilar beita þessari aðferð til að ná árangri.

Hvort lið um sig þarf á stuðningsmönnum að halda, Mahicanarnir sækja sér stuðning hjá Algonquian-mælandi frændum sínum en milli þeirra eru í gangi sifjaheiti sem þeir höfða síðan til til að mynda bandalög sín á milli, þannig kölluðu þeir Munseeana fyrir suðvestan þá afa sína en Indíánaþjóðirnar fyrir austan þá börn sín. Mohawkarnir sóttu hins vegar stuðning sinn til Iroquois-bandalagsins en þeirra hlutverk þar var að gæta ,,austurdyra" þess bandalags. Hlutverk Hollendinga í þessum leik var að vera einskonar samningamenn sem reyndu að ná sáttum milli deiluaðila vegna þess að átök milli deiluaðilanna raskaði þeirri verslun sem þeir stóðu í. Samkeppnin milli Mahicananna og Mohawkanna fólst í því að fyrst náðu liðin sér í bandamenn og tengsl við nálæga valdaaðila og síðan eftir það reyndu liðin með sér. Þessu ferli var svo haldið áfram ef pattstaða myndaðist. Dómarar í þessum leik voru ýmist Hollendingar (seinna meir Englendingar og þeirra dómskerfi) eða almenningsálitið hjá hverri þjóð um sig, ef illa fór var sennilega skipt um einstakling í hetjuembættinu og annar fenginn til að taka það hlutverk að sér.

Upp úr 1640 þegar ljóst var að veiðidýrunum, sem var megintakmark beggja þjóðanna, hafði fækkað svo mjög á landsvæði Mahicananna og Mohawkanna að það annaði ekki lengur þeirri þörf sem þeir höfðu til að kaupa verslunarvörur Hollendinga, stækkaði leiksviðið og átökin milli þeirra færðust yfir til nágrannaþjóðanna. Mahicanarnir yfirtóku, stjórnmálalega séð, þjóðirnar fyrir sunnan þá og létu þær borga sér skatt í formi skinna og skelja. Þetta er annað stigið í hinni stjórnmálalegu yfirtöku, hremming, þessar þjóðir voru látnar í friði svo
lengi sem þær borguðu sinn skatt til herraþjóðarinnar.

Samskipti Mahicananna innbyrðis í eigin samfélagi og samskiptin við þær þjóðir sem þeir lögðu undir sig er hægt að túlka með nálgun Wolfs á þremur tegundum framleiðslu en tvær þeirra eiga við hér. Ættarformið (kin-ordered mode) væri hægt að nota yfir samfélag Mahicananna sjálfra innbyrðis á meðan að skattgjaldskylduformið (tributary mode) væri hægt að nota um samskipti Mahicananna við undirmálsþjóðirnar, þannig gætu Mahicanar verið aðallinn sem þiggur, á meðan að undirmálsþjóðirnar væru stétt framleiðanda sem gefur (Lewellen, 1992: 162).

Þegar Hollendingar gáfust upp fyrir Englendingum árið 1664, kom fram á sjónarsviðið mun voldugri og árásargjarnari þátttakandi en Hollendingar höfðu verið. Með komu Englendinga inn á sviðið hófust fyrir alvöru átök tveggja menningarheima. Sú stefna þeirra að leggja landið undir sig og hrekja burt eða útrýma Indíánaþjóðunum sem á því bjuggu, gerði það að verkum að þeir urðu fljótt alls ráðandi í þessum togstreituleik. Í staðinn fyrir að koma fram við Indíánaþjóðirnar á jafnréttisgrundvelli, eins og Hollendingar höfðu gert, komu þeir fram við þær sem undirmálsþjóðir sem einungis væri hægt að nota sem vörn gegn Frökkum. Þegar Frakkar gáfust einnig upp fyrir þeim árið 1763, ásamt því sem keppikeflið, loðdýrin, voru næstum horfin, höfðu Englendingar engin not fyrir Indíánana lengur og völd þeirra og áhrif urðu þar af leiðandi að engu. Indíánaþjóðirnar urðu því, allar sem ein, að bráð hinni stjórnmálalegu yfirtöku og færðust yfir á fyrsta stigið, þar sem þær áttu og eiga enn í baráttu fyrir því að þriðja stigið, samlögunin, rætist ekki á þeim.

Það sem gæti hafa gerst í samskiptum þeirra 4 þjóða, sem mynduðu Mahican-bandalagið í upphafi, gæti verið þriðja stigið eða samlögun, minni þjóðirnar hurfu þegar þær urðu umluktar stærra sviðinu, þ. e. Mahicönunum. Þegar t. d. Housatonic þjóðin gerðist aðili að Mahican-bandalaginu samlagaðist hún fljótt vegna þess að bólusótt hafði drepið 90% þjóðarinnar og vegna þess að Mahicanarnir færðu mörg af þorpum sínum yfir á landsvæði þeirra. Engar vísbendingar eru um að Mohawkarnir hafi nokkurn tímann náð að yfirtaka Mahicanana stjórnmálalega séð. Þær stjórnmálalegu breytingar sem urðu hjá Mahicönunum, við hina stjórnmálalegu yfirtöku, voru róttækar breytingar því með komu trúboðanna varð þeirra hefðbundna menning að hverfa, þ. e. gildisreglurnar og gagnsemisreglurnar breyttust óafturkallanlega.

Þegar Mahicanarnir urðu sjálfir fórnarlömb í hinni stjórnmálalegu yfirtöku, tóku trúboðarnir að sér hlutverk miðlaranna (middlemen) milli hinna ólíku menningarheima. Áður en trúboðarnir hófu starf sitt meðal Mahicananna voru þeir staðsettir á fyrsta stiginu, þ. e. stærra sviðið (Englendingar) hafði lítil samskipti við minna sviðið (Mahicanana). Upp úr 1700 færðust Mahicanarnir hægt en örugglega yfir á fyrsta stig hinnar stjórnmálalegu yfirtöku þegar áhrif þeirra og völd hraðminnkuðu í stækkandi heimi, völdum og áhrifum hinna hvítu nýlendubúa.

Við upphaf trúboðstímabilsins létu trúboðarnir hefðbundna lifnaðarhætti Mahicananna að mestu leyti í friði en eftir því sem árin liðu fóru þeir að krefjast þess að karlarnir legðu niður hinar hefðbundnu veiðar og tækju þátt í starfi kvennanna á ökrunum. Vegna þessa mynduðust tvær fylkingar meðal þeirra, Indíánasinnaðir og Hvítingjasinnaðir. Flokkur Indíánasinna lagði áherslu á að viðhalda hinni hefðbundnu menningu á meðan að Hvítingjasinnar, sem héldu um stjórnartaumana, vildu skipta gömlu menningunni algjörlega út fyrir menningu hinna hvítu. Indíánaflokkurinn var því mótviðbrögð hinna ,,hefðbundnu" gegn nýlendustefnunni og þeim menningarbreytingum sem trúboðarnir stóðu fyrir. Hið miðstýrðara stjórnmálakerfi, sem trúboðarnir komu á, skapaði þessar tvær fylkingar sem nú urðu að finna nýjar og áður ókunnar reglur til að spila eftir í hinum nýja stjórnmálaleik (Lewellen, 1992: 155).

Annað mikilvægt atriði í þessum breytingum og togstreitu var umbreyting frá sifjakerfinu, þ. e. ættarveldinu, sem grunni að völdum og áhrifum í samfélagi þeirra, yfir í þá einstaklingshyggju sem var grunnurinn að völdum í samfélagi Evrópubúa. Þetta ferli fellur ágætlega að nýhyggjunálgun (modernization theory) Rostows, að þróun í átt að nútíma fæli í sér niðurbrotnun hinna hefðbundnu stofnana samfélagsins eins og sést hér með hruni sifjakerfisins sem grunni valda í samfélaginu (Lewellen, 1992: 154). Þarna tókust á tvær tegundir gildisreglna, hinar ,,hefðbundnu" siðferðisreglur og siðferðisreglur Evrópubúanna. Nýhyggjunálgunin gerir ráð fyrir breytingum innan frá á leiðinni til þróunar en ef ég tæki sem snöggvast ósjálfstæðisnálgunina (dependency theory) og beitti henni, mætti segja að breytingarnar á samfélagi Mahicananna komi til vegna áhrifa utan frá, þ. e. frá trúboðunum aðallega.

Þó svo Mahicanarnir hafi verið að mestu, stjórnmálalega og menningarlega séð, samlagaðir, hafa siðferðisreglur þeirra og gildi verið of ólík hinni ríkjandi menningu til þess að samlögunin gæti orðið fullkomin. Vegna þessa hafa þeir því getað viðhaldið sjálfsmynd sinni til þessa dags sem sérstakrar þjóðar og hefur sú sjálfsmynd styrkst undanfarin ár og þeir því þar af leiðandi mjakað sér lengra á veg út úr samlögunarstiginu.

Conclusion

Þó svo að koma Hollendinga, þá aðallega verslunarvörur þeirra, inn á það togstreitusvið sem var við hendi við ofanverðan Hudson dal, hafi við fyrstu sýn virst vera mikil blessun fyrir Indíánaþjóðirnar þar, setti það samt sem áður af stað það mikla og margbrotna ferli sem að lokum varð frumbyggjaþjóðunum banvænn, svo vægt sé til orða tekið.

Það sem einkennir átökin eða togstreituna eftir komu Englendinga inn á sviðið, er það að Mahicönunum var ekki ætlaður neinn staður í valdakerfi, framtíðar efnahagskerfi nýlendubúa eða í þeirra heimsmynd almennt. Það eina sem Mahicanarnir og aðrar Indíánaþjóðir og hópar gátu gert var að reyna að lifa af og forðast að verða samlögunarstigi hinnar stjórnmálalegu yfirtöku alfarið að bráð. Þeirra þáttur í stjórnmálaleik norðaustursvæðisins var lokið er 18. öldin gekk í garð og höfðu þeir því einungis leikið þar hlutverk í tæp hundrað ár.

Þær kenningar sem ég hef notað hér í þessari ritgerð eru ágætar til skilnings á stjórnmálaferli Mahicananna en enginn þeirra skýrir samt fullkomlega hvað þarna átti sér stað. T. d. gerir yfirtökusvið leikjanálgunarinnar ekki ráð fyrir því að um afturhvarf frá samlögun geti átt sér stað, t. d. í formi endurvakningar þjóðernis og samfélaga eins og hefur gerst meðal sumra Indíánaþjóða í Bandaríkjunum. Einnig bera nýhyggju- og ósjálfstæðisnálganirnar of mikinn keim af vestrænum marxista/kapítalista hugsunarhætti fyrir utan að gera það breytingarferli sem hefur átt sér stað í þriðja og fjórða heiminum of einfaldað. Leikjanálgunin sjálf á það á hættu að líta fram hjá þeim félagslega veruleika sem hún er að fjalla um og þau áhrif sem sá veruleiki getur haft á einstaklingana og samfélagið sem þeir búa í. En þrátt fyrir að finna megi einhverja galla á öllum þessum kenningum henta þær samt sem áður vel, eins og ég áður sagði, til að skilja mannfræðilega stjórnmálaferli Mahicananna.

Presently Mohicans can be found living mainly as the Stockbridge-Munsee of Wisconsin, as well as with the Munsees on the Six Nations Reserve in Ontario (called Delawares on the rez.). As the new millennia arrives overall Mohican population in both the U.S. and Canada probably far exceed 2.000 people.