Ruth Tantaquidgeon, 95; Second to Last of the Full-Blooded Mohegans
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Ruth Etta Tantaquidgeon, 95, a prominent matriarch of the Mohegan tribe, died Wednesday in Uncasville, Conn.
Tantaquidgeon and her sister Gladys, 105, were 10th-generation descendants of Uncas, the Mohegan “sachem,” or chief, who settled at Fort Shantok.
The last full-blooded Mohegans, the sisters together were credited with helping the tribe gain federal recognition.
In the 1990s, Ruth Tantaquidgeon organized a large collection of family memorabilia, which helped establish the Native American tribe’s lineage.
Among the materials were correspondence, military and tribal records, and notices of births, funerals, graduations and marriages.
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