Most residents of the United States — and even many residents of the Northeast — know very little about the history of the Adirondacks region. Specifically, the Native Americans that originally settled the Adirondacks have received minimal recognition for their long history prior to the creation of the United States. Over the 800 years, the Adirondack natives have been here, the Europeans that have come into the region have done nothing but destroy the land that they once lived freely on. However, there have been recent efforts to commemorate their existence and recognize that this population resided in the area.
Europeans “discovering” America had a significant and negative impact on both Native American culture and the natural resources critical to the Native American tribes’ way of life. A prime example of the destruction that Europeans wreaked in this region was the fur trade. During the colonial era, Europeans and Native Americans fought over beavers, which were very profitable due to the usage of their fur in various products. Eventually, this contributed to not only the destruction of the relationship between the Europeans and Native Americans but also forever changed the natural landscape of the Adirondacks. The conflict obliterated the beaver population and considerably altered key features of the region. The region underwent significant modifications — particularly to its waterways — because of the absence of beavers, which are second only to humans in their ability to modify their environment.
In addition, throughout the conflict, there were numerous instances of the Europeans building forts and then simply abandoning them to decay. After abandoning these forts, they would often construct new ones nearby, further altering the land. The image below depicts Fort Ticonderoga, the most famous of these forts.
Recently, there has been an increased effort to show respect and support for the Native American tribes that first settled this land. One example of this is an exhibit built at The Adirondack Experience, The Museum on Blue Mountain Lake that highlights the Native American tribes that settled in the Adirondacks. “‘We have not tackled the story of Native Americans in the Adirondacks in the past,’ said David Kahn, executive director of The Adirondack Experience, The Museum on Blue Mountain Lake.” The museum is hoping that this exhibit will set the record straight, and be a “wake-up moment” for people that have the misperception that the Adirondacks weren’t Mohawk and Abenaki territory. The image below is from the new exhibit at the museum. Natasha Smoke Santiago, a Mohawk who is an artist-in-residence at the museum, said that it made her happy “that they wanted to genuinely include us in the exhibit—and that they picked really beautiful work.”
Although examples such as the exhibit represent a step in the right direction, they are clearly not sufficient. The long history of Native Americans in the Adirondacks deserves more recognition, particularly given its enduring impact on our natural landscape and our political system.
“Adirondacks: Europeans and American Colonists (U.S. National Park Service).” National Parks Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, www.nps.gov/articles/adirondacks-europeans-and-american-colonists.htm.
Braine, Theresa. “Adirondack Museum Dispels Myths with Native Exhibit.” Indian Country Today, Indian Country Today, 13 July 2017, indiancountrytoday.com/archive/adirondack-museum-native-history.
“Facts about Beavers in the Adirondacks.” Adirondack.net, www.adirondack.net/wildlife/beavers/.
“Fort Ticonderoga.” Fort Ticonderoga | Official Adirondack Region Website, visitadirondacks.com/attractions/fort-ticonderoga.
Really enjoyed reading your blog, Justin! The exhibit built at The Museum on Blue Mountain Lake is surely a step in the right direction for recognizing the natives that once lived in the Adirondack region. I believe that for a better representation, there needs to be substantial information about the natives that once lived on the land. I wonder if the history of the natives in the Adirondack is well documented for two reasons. Firstly, the natives in the early days were temporary residents in the Adirondack region and secondly because the it must have been very difficult to get an access to Adirondack region for historians in the past.
I feel like as a class we have talked about the idea of whether it is good to have things like museum exhibits and statements of recognition on Native American land, or whether this effort is simply not sufficient and almost mocks the Native Americans. I think it truly is hard to know whether Native Americans are appreciative of these efforts or think they are disrespectful to their ancestors. At the very least it is better to at least educate people about the history of Native Americans so that they know who resided in the Adirondacks in the past. Another question I have is how many Native American’s were really living in the park? There seems to be a variety of opinions on whether Native Americans truly lived in the area or whether they would just pass through on occasion because the land was harsh and unsustainable.