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...but first, the rooms needed to be painted "Tuesday Podcast 11 Minutes"
The settlers were led by Chief Standing Arrow, also known as Frank Johnson
Tuesday, January 11, 2022
The 1957 Mohawk Indian encampment
By Bob Cudmore
In June, 1957 a group of Mohawk Indians occupied land near the Schoharie Creek on the south side of the Mohawk River and remained there until they were evicted by court order in the spring of 1958.
The settlers were led by Chief Standing Arrow, also known as Frank Johnson. The 1957 encampment was meant to repossess part of an 8,000 acre tract the Mohawks said was not included in land ceded to the U.S. government by the Iroquois Confederacy in the Fort Stanwix Treaty of 1784. According to historian Hugh Donlon, there was talk of 3,000 Mohawks coming to the settlement from the Mohawk reservation on the Canadian border with northern New York.
That large influx never happened but the Mohawks along the Schoharie fought vigorously in court when charged with hunting without a license, for example, contending they did not need a state license to hunt on their own lands. The hunters ultimately paid a ten dollar fine. Chief Standing Arrow himself was fined for operating a motor vehicle without a license, despite his contention he did not need a state driver’s license.
At first landowner Elmer Buckman, a dairy farmer, did not object to the Mohawk encampment. He was quoted as saying the encampment on his land was all right as long as the Mohawks “did not make any trouble.” But as time passed, Buckman retained an attorney to get his land back and the Mohawks expanded their settlement to land owned by farmer William Dufel.
The Mohawks built a longhouse and small dwelling units. The scene was a tourist attraction in the summer of 1957, visible from the Thruway bridge over the Schoharie Creek. That ill-fated bridge collapsed 30 years later killing 10 people. The Thruway Authority closed the new bridge following Tropical Storm Irene for a time last month and a pickup truck operator died in the vicinity when his truck was overtaken by water from the overflowing creek on Route 5-S. The Route 5-S bridge over the Schoharie is still closed.
Montgomery County Sheriff Alton Dingman first served eviction notices on the Mohawk settlement in January 1958. Since Chief Standing Arrow was not in camp at the time, his notice was nailed to the longhouse.
The winter was a tough one and snow covered part of the encampment that housed some 40 people at that point, according to a Daily Gazette report. Sheriff Dingman and two officers parked on Route 5-S and trudged through the snow to serve the legal papers at the settlement, located south of the highway. The Salvation Army had provided some assistance to the residents at Christmas in the form of food and clothing.
In March 1958, 25 people were reported still living at the Schoharie Creek Indian site. After a court hearing that month that resulted in another eviction order, some of the Mohawk huts were burned, The encampment apparently ended soon after that. The Mohawks were offered land in the town of Fulton in Schoharie County as an alternative site in the area but if there was a settlement there, it was short lived.
Donlon wrote, “The Dufel corn fields between Fort Hunter and Auriesville were again in high-stalk production during the following summer.”
A group of traditional Mohawks moved into Kanatsiohareke, a settlement in Yosts west of Fonda on Route 5 in 1993. Located on the north side of the river at the former site of the county adult home, Kanatsiohareke is a not-for-profit corporation that purchased the property from Montgomery County. It is a place to which many American Indians and others travel to learn the Mohawk language and hold on to native heritage. Chief Tom Porter of Kanatsiohareke is a nephew of Frank Johnson, Chief Standing Arrow.
Tomorrow, Wednesday, January 12, 2022
From the Archives- Episode 131, September 30, 2016-Janet Lee Berg discusses her historical novel “Rembrandt’s Shadow.” (Post Hill Press, 2016) Her book is based on the true story of her husband Bruce Berg’s family during the Holocaust in the Netherlands. Two of his ancestors were art dealers who traded valuable paintings to the Nazis for Jewish lives.
Thursday, January 13, 2022- From the Archives of Focus on History in the Daily Gazette-Writer Edmund Wilson visited the Fort Hunter Mohawk encampment
Wilson found that Standing Arrow was part of an Iroquois nationalist movement with adherents at the Onondaga reservation...
Friday, January 14, 2022-Episode 405-Jerry Snyder of Historic Amsterdam League has stories from a new booklet on Amsterdam’s arts, focusing on visual artists, actors, singers and more with ties to Amsterdam, New York.
Mohawk Valley Weather, Tuesday, January 11, 2022
Tonight
Increasing clouds, with a low around 2. Wind chill values as low as -6. Calm wind becoming southeast around 6 mph after midnight.
Wednesday
Increasing clouds, with a high near 32. Wind chill values as low as -2. East wind around 6 mph becoming southwest in the afternoon.
The Erie Canal historic site, Schoharie Crossing will host several online programs this winter on a variety of history related topics.
Presentations will be offered in two series: Lunchbox Lessons and the Third Thursday Lectures. Both series will be offered live online and most will be recorded for later viewing on YouTube.
In January, the Lunchbox Lesson will be on Tuesday the 11th at noon featuring site staff discussing the importance and history of broom manufacturing in the Fort Hunter area. On the Third Thursday, Patrick Reynolds from the Oneida County Historical Society will discuss Jesse Williams and the Cheese Factory System at 7 pm on the 20th.
During the month of February, the Lunchbox Lesson will discuss food preservation and its impact on westward expansion at noon on Tuesday the 8th. Bill Merchant will discuss the D&H Canal for the Third Thursday Lecture at 7 pm on the 17th.
These programs are free for the public and available on the Webex meeting platform. No registration is required, and links can be found on NYS Parks Website. For more information about these programs, call the Visitor Center at (518) 829-7516 or email [email protected]
Mohawk Valley News Headlines, Tuesday, January 11, 2022
Daily Gazette
Wind Chill Advisory over Fulton, Montgomery, Schoharie and western Schenectady counties
ALBANY – A wind chill advisory has been put in place for three counties in the area, as well as…
Scrapbook 1975: Schenectady diners, politicians and a judge (7 photos)
SCRAPBOOK – Our scrapbook this week includes photos from 1975, diners, politicians and a judge. In the top photo, Rubin…
https://dailygazette.com/
Amsterdam Recorder
Perth kidnap defendants had a strained relationship that included an order of protection, documents show
Prior to allegedly helping Justin J. Wilson brutally torture his estranged wife for six days...
https://www.recordernews.com/
Leader Herald
Make us part of Your Day
https://www.leaderherald.com/
View all episodes
By Bob Cudmore...but first, the rooms needed to be painted "Tuesday Podcast 11 Minutes"
The settlers were led by Chief Standing Arrow, also known as Frank Johnson
Tuesday, January 11, 2022
The 1957 Mohawk Indian encampment
By Bob Cudmore
In June, 1957 a group of Mohawk Indians occupied land near the Schoharie Creek on the south side of the Mohawk River and remained there until they were evicted by court order in the spring of 1958.
The settlers were led by Chief Standing Arrow, also known as Frank Johnson. The 1957 encampment was meant to repossess part of an 8,000 acre tract the Mohawks said was not included in land ceded to the U.S. government by the Iroquois Confederacy in the Fort Stanwix Treaty of 1784. According to historian Hugh Donlon, there was talk of 3,000 Mohawks coming to the settlement from the Mohawk reservation on the Canadian border with northern New York.
That large influx never happened but the Mohawks along the Schoharie fought vigorously in court when charged with hunting without a license, for example, contending they did not need a state license to hunt on their own lands. The hunters ultimately paid a ten dollar fine. Chief Standing Arrow himself was fined for operating a motor vehicle without a license, despite his contention he did not need a state driver’s license.
At first landowner Elmer Buckman, a dairy farmer, did not object to the Mohawk encampment. He was quoted as saying the encampment on his land was all right as long as the Mohawks “did not make any trouble.” But as time passed, Buckman retained an attorney to get his land back and the Mohawks expanded their settlement to land owned by farmer William Dufel.
The Mohawks built a longhouse and small dwelling units. The scene was a tourist attraction in the summer of 1957, visible from the Thruway bridge over the Schoharie Creek. That ill-fated bridge collapsed 30 years later killing 10 people. The Thruway Authority closed the new bridge following Tropical Storm Irene for a time last month and a pickup truck operator died in the vicinity when his truck was overtaken by water from the overflowing creek on Route 5-S. The Route 5-S bridge over the Schoharie is still closed.
Montgomery County Sheriff Alton Dingman first served eviction notices on the Mohawk settlement in January 1958. Since Chief Standing Arrow was not in camp at the time, his notice was nailed to the longhouse.
The winter was a tough one and snow covered part of the encampment that housed some 40 people at that point, according to a Daily Gazette report. Sheriff Dingman and two officers parked on Route 5-S and trudged through the snow to serve the legal papers at the settlement, located south of the highway. The Salvation Army had provided some assistance to the residents at Christmas in the form of food and clothing.
In March 1958, 25 people were reported still living at the Schoharie Creek Indian site. After a court hearing that month that resulted in another eviction order, some of the Mohawk huts were burned, The encampment apparently ended soon after that. The Mohawks were offered land in the town of Fulton in Schoharie County as an alternative site in the area but if there was a settlement there, it was short lived.
Donlon wrote, “The Dufel corn fields between Fort Hunter and Auriesville were again in high-stalk production during the following summer.”
A group of traditional Mohawks moved into Kanatsiohareke, a settlement in Yosts west of Fonda on Route 5 in 1993. Located on the north side of the river at the former site of the county adult home, Kanatsiohareke is a not-for-profit corporation that purchased the property from Montgomery County. It is a place to which many American Indians and others travel to learn the Mohawk language and hold on to native heritage. Chief Tom Porter of Kanatsiohareke is a nephew of Frank Johnson, Chief Standing Arrow.
Tomorrow, Wednesday, January 12, 2022
From the Archives- Episode 131, September 30, 2016-Janet Lee Berg discusses her historical novel “Rembrandt’s Shadow.” (Post Hill Press, 2016) Her book is based on the true story of her husband Bruce Berg’s family during the Holocaust in the Netherlands. Two of his ancestors were art dealers who traded valuable paintings to the Nazis for Jewish lives.
Thursday, January 13, 2022- From the Archives of Focus on History in the Daily Gazette-Writer Edmund Wilson visited the Fort Hunter Mohawk encampment
Wilson found that Standing Arrow was part of an Iroquois nationalist movement with adherents at the Onondaga reservation...
Friday, January 14, 2022-Episode 405-Jerry Snyder of Historic Amsterdam League has stories from a new booklet on Amsterdam’s arts, focusing on visual artists, actors, singers and more with ties to Amsterdam, New York.
Mohawk Valley Weather, Tuesday, January 11, 2022
Tonight
Increasing clouds, with a low around 2. Wind chill values as low as -6. Calm wind becoming southeast around 6 mph after midnight.
Wednesday
Increasing clouds, with a high near 32. Wind chill values as low as -2. East wind around 6 mph becoming southwest in the afternoon.
The Erie Canal historic site, Schoharie Crossing will host several online programs this winter on a variety of history related topics.
Presentations will be offered in two series: Lunchbox Lessons and the Third Thursday Lectures. Both series will be offered live online and most will be recorded for later viewing on YouTube.
In January, the Lunchbox Lesson will be on Tuesday the 11th at noon featuring site staff discussing the importance and history of broom manufacturing in the Fort Hunter area. On the Third Thursday, Patrick Reynolds from the Oneida County Historical Society will discuss Jesse Williams and the Cheese Factory System at 7 pm on the 20th.
During the month of February, the Lunchbox Lesson will discuss food preservation and its impact on westward expansion at noon on Tuesday the 8th. Bill Merchant will discuss the D&H Canal for the Third Thursday Lecture at 7 pm on the 17th.
These programs are free for the public and available on the Webex meeting platform. No registration is required, and links can be found on NYS Parks Website. For more information about these programs, call the Visitor Center at (518) 829-7516 or email [email protected]
Mohawk Valley News Headlines, Tuesday, January 11, 2022
Daily Gazette
Wind Chill Advisory over Fulton, Montgomery, Schoharie and western Schenectady counties
ALBANY – A wind chill advisory has been put in place for three counties in the area, as well as…
Scrapbook 1975: Schenectady diners, politicians and a judge (7 photos)
SCRAPBOOK – Our scrapbook this week includes photos from 1975, diners, politicians and a judge. In the top photo, Rubin…
https://dailygazette.com/
Amsterdam Recorder
Perth kidnap defendants had a strained relationship that included an order of protection, documents show
Prior to allegedly helping Justin J. Wilson brutally torture his estranged wife for six days...
https://www.recordernews.com/
Leader Herald
Make us part of Your Day
https://www.leaderherald.com/