The Pequot War: America’s First Attempted Genocide
and the Resilience of the Pequot People

About the Workshop

Sunday, July 6 – Saturday, July 12, 2025
Mashantucket Pequot Reservation, Mashantucket, CT

Teachers in this one-week workshop will participate in field trips and learn to use primary and secondary sources to examine a history that is rarely told, and certainly not from the Indigenous perspective.

  • During this institute, teachers will engage in attempting to answer compelling questions, including: What is genocide? What happens when worlds collide? What is sovereignty? How do a people preserve their culture while navigating the effects of settler colonialism? What is land stewardship? What can traditional Indigenous cultures offer modern American society to make life more sustainable amidst rapid climate change?
  • By giving teachers across the nation the opportunity to study sources housed at the Pequot Museum and to interact with Pequot educators on the reservation, this institute is one step forward in reversing historic injustices and broadening the stories told about Indigenous peoples in American classrooms.
  • Teachers will study firsthand the intersectionality of land stewardship and sustainable living with traditional native cultural values. Although deeply grounded in the humanities, the themes of this institute point to the importance of climate science in relation to the study of how people live.
  • Site visits across Southeastern Connecticut will give teachers the opportunity to see the broader context of Pequot history and culture.

Stipend

Our Institute is Residential for 1 week and the stipend will be $1,300. It is taxable as income.

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Application Instructions

Applications Due: March 5, 2025

You will be notified on April 2, 2025 and must accept by April 16, 2025

The application will provide us with information about the following:

  • Your teaching and school backgrounds
  • Your interest in this workshop
  • How you would use this information and learning with your students

NEH does not condone or tolerate discrimination or harassment based on age, color, disability, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, and gender identity), genetic information, national origin, race, or religion. Nor does NEH condone or tolerate retaliation against those who initiate discrimination complaints (either formally or informally), serve as witnesses, or otherwise participate in the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) process, or oppose discrimination or harassment. For further information, write to the Equal Opportunity Officer, National Endowment for the Humanities, 400 7th Street, SW, Washington, DC 20024. TDD: 202-606-8282 (this is a special telephone device for the Deaf)

Schedule

Travel

Mashantucket is accessible via car, train, boat and air.

By Car

Mashantucket is conveniently located right off I-95. Participants who wish to drive may should enter Foxwoods Resort Casino into their GPS. We are conveniently located less than three hours outside of New York City and about two hours outside of Boston.

By Air

The closest airport to Mashantucket is Providence, but participants may choose to fly into Hartford, Boston or New York, should they choose to do so. We recommend renting a car or taking a taxi from Providence or Hartford, or taking Amtrak then a taxi from Boston or New York.

By Boat

Because of our location near the Long Island Sound, there are several ferries that are in close proximity to Mashantucket.

View New London Ferries

By Train

Amtrak makes several stops near the Mashantucket Pequot Reservation.

View Amtrak stops

Parking

Parking is free at Foxwoods Resort Casino

Housing and Food

We encourage applicants to spend the week in our reserved block of rooms at the world class Foxwoods Resort Casino. Look out for information on how to reserve a room, as well as information on how to connect with other attendees if you’re interested in sharing a room, in early 2025. Links to other hotel accommodations in the area will be made available in early 2025.

Foxwoods Resort Casino has many dining options for Institute participants. Restaurants can be found here. More information regarding food during the Institute will be made available in early 2025.

Faculty

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Rebecca Gomez

Co-Director, Director of Education for Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation

Rebecca Lord Gomez is thrilled to serve the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation as the Director of Education. Rebecca attended Ithaca College in upstate New York, where she studied oboe performance and history. She began her career as a 7th grade English teacher in the South Bronx as a Teach For America corps member, then spent time teaching in Brooklyn, NY at Achievement First before obtaining a dual master’s in Library Science and Humanities at Long Island University and New York University. Her undergraduate thesis was on the McKinley assassination and the emergence of the conservation movement under Theodore Roosevelt, and her master’s thesis was on the dramatic literature of Bertolt Brecht and the everyday “performance” of German complicity in Nazi Germany.

After realizing that her true love is inspiring middle schoolers to read, she left academic to return to the classroom in Newark, NJ. She spent five years teaching 8th grade English and serving as an Academic Dean before becoming a history curriculum director for Uncommon Schools, a major charter school network across New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts.

In her current role, she serves the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal community in fulfilling all of their educational endeavors. She also works with the Connecticut State Department of Education to write curriculum, serves on the board of Connecticut Council for the Social Studies, consults on Indigenous slavery with the Gilder Lehrman Center at Yale, works with CT Humanities and the CT Democracy Center on CT History Day, serves on the America 250 Education Sub-Committee for Connecticut, and is a participant in a group working to indigenize the CT State community college system.

When she is not teaching, Rebecca enjoys reading, cooking vegetarian cuisine and singing karaoke. She loves then National Park Service and anything related to Broadway and showtunes. She lives with her daughter, husband and two cats (Ishmael and Moritz) in Stonington, CT.

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Joshua Carter

Co-Director, Director of the Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center

As the former Director and Tribal & Native American Relations, he has consistently provided education through art, printed materials and exhibitions of north eastern woodland culture. It was also his responsibility to ensure compliance to Tribal Law, Title 33, the nation’s Tribal and Native American Preference law. This law ensured the necessary components are in place to uphold the rights within employment, hire, transfer, training and retention including compliance with the policies supporting tribal law within MPGE and MPTN.

Given Josh’s responsibility as the Executive Director of the Mashantucket Pequot Museum he leads the world’s largest Native American museum. The MPMRC’s mission is to strengthen Pequot culture to honor and serve our Tribal family and friends. The intention is to continually create, build and strengthen healthy relationships with our students and educators. This opportunity will continue to ensure the teachers of Connecticut have the necessary information pertaining to the first peoples of this land historically, culturally and who we are as modern people.

Wunneaunatsu Lamb-Cason

K-12 Education Specialist, Assistant Director of Native American and Indigenous Studies at Brown University

Wunneanatsu Lamb-Cason (Schaghticoke/HoChunk) is an award-winning educator, traditional storyteller, author, and advocate with over 20 years of experience promoting social and cultural equity in education. She has taught high school history in Virginia for the last decade and was recognized as the 2024 National History Teacher of the Year by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History for her contributions to accurate and inclusive history education.

An enrolled citizen of the Schaghticoke Tribal Nation, Wunneanatsu draws inspiration from her grandmother, Trudie Lamb-Richmond, a renowned Tribal Historian, Master Storyteller, and the original Director of Public Programs for the Pequot Museum. Her grandmother’s teachings inform Wunneanatsu’s approach to intergenerational knowledge-sharing and cultural preservation, inspiring her debut children’s book, Grandmother Moon, set for release in August 2025.

Wunneanatsu holds a B.A. in History with a concentration in Native American Studies and an M.A. in American History. She has served on numerous state and national committees, including as Chair of the NCSS Indigenous Peoples Policy Statement Task Force.

Now serving as the Assistant Director of Native American and Indigenous Studies at Brown University, Wunneanatsu supports expanding Indigenous-focused academic programs and fosters relationships with tribal communities. She also owns Eastern Woodlands Education Consultants, LLC, through which she provides workshops and professional development to educators nationwide, focusing on combating misinformation and ensuring Indigenous histories are authentically represented in classrooms throughout our educational landscape.

Speakers

Jason Mancini

Dr. Jason Mancini joined CT Humanities as Executive Director in 2018. At CTH, he is focused on strengthening organizational partnerships, engaging diverse audiences, and anchoring Connecticut’s placemaking, public history, and integrative digital initiatives.

Jason is also co-founder of Akomawt Educational Initiative and the former Executive Director of the Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center. During the past 30 years, he has worked with tribes and Indigenous peoples of southern New England, Alaska, Hawai’i, and New Zealand. He is an ally to these communities and works to build awareness of Indigenous rights and histories in public spaces. His academic interests include Indigenous social networks, maritime labor, and migration; Indigenous citizenship and political activism; and re-indigenizing public history and education.

Currently a Visiting Associate Professor of Slavery and Justice at Brown University’s Simmons Center, Jason served previously as Adjunct Professor of Anthropology at the University of Connecticut, Visiting Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Connecticut College, Visiting Assistant Professor of History at Brown University, and Social Sciences Instructor at Sea for Sea Education Association (SEA).

Jason is a Scientist-in-Residence at Mystic Aquarium, a member of Everyday Democracy’s Civic Health Advisory Committee, board member of UConn’s Asian and Asian American Studies Institute, advisor for UConn’s Tribal Educational Initiative, and served on the African American Curriculum Development Committee for the State Education Resource Center (SERC).

Jason holds a Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Connecticut with expertise in the archaeology and ethnohistory of New England. His article, “in contempt and oblivion”: Censuses, Ethnogeography, and Hidden Indian Histories in Eighteenth-Century Southern New England, published in the Journal of Ethnohistory and his forthcoming projects, “Beyond Reservation: Indian Survivance in Southern New England,” and “The Narraganset Chief, or the Adventures of a Wanderer”: Recovering an Indigenous Autobiography, examine the nuanced and subverted histories of the Indigenous peoples of the American northeast.

Kevin McBride

Kevin McBride is an Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of Connecticut and the former Director of Research at the Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center. He has conducted archaeological and historical research throughout New England, Block Island, Baja Mexico, the Caribbean, and Portugal. His research interests include Indigenous and Colonial cultural and historical landscapes, maritime adaptations, historical archaeology, underwater archaeology, and battlefield archaeology.

McBride is a member of the Society for American Archaeology, the American Anthropological Association, the Society for Historical Archaeology, and the Society for American Ethnohistory and is adjunct Faculty at the Institute for Exploration. He is a former member of the Board of Directors of the Connecticut Museum of Natural History and of the Governor’s Task Force on Indian Affairs.

He has written numerous articles on Native American and Colonial archaeology, ethnohistory, archaeobotany, underwater archaeology, and battlefield archaeology.

Akeia de Barros Gomes

Dr. Akeia de Barros Gomes is the Interim Vice President of the American Institute for Maritime Studies at Mystic Seaport Museum, she is the Director of the Frank C. Munson Institute of American Maritime Studies, and is a Visiting Scholar at Brown University’s Ruth Simmons Center for the Study of Slavery and Justice.

Akeia is responsible for scholarship, exhibitions, and collections at Mystic Seaport and has been responsible for curatorial projects of race, Indigenous histories, ethnicity, and diversity in New England’s Maritime activities. She leads a multi-disciplinary team to examine Mystic Seaport Museum’s and other regional collections to develop contemporary re-imaginings of people’s actions in the past and present, and translate that into content relevant to today’s social environment.

Akeia taught as professor of American Studies and Professor of Psychology and Human Development at Wheelock College from 2008 to 2017. She received her BA in anthropology/archaeology at Salve Regina University and her MA and PhD in anthropology/archaeology at the University of Connecticut.

Nakai Northup

Nakai Northup serves as head of education at the Mashantucket Pequot Museum where he’s spent more than 10 years developing educational programs on eastern woodland tribal history and culture for visitors of all ages. He also serves as a board member of the Stonington Historical Society.

An avid hunter and fisherman, Nakai is a frequent speaker and lecturer on historic preservation, environmental Indigenous activism, food sovereignty, and teaching traditional eastern woodland histories and lifeways. Having both Mashantucket Pequot and Narragansett bloodlines, Nakai has spent his entire life on both reservations and is a passionate advocate and activist for Native American rights. With a strong love for his tribal communities and as a father of three beautiful children, Nakai is dedicated to preserving tribal histories and passing down cultural traditions to younger generations.

Samantha Tondreau

Samantha Tondreau was hired in March of 2022 to fill a new role as the Director of Curriculum & Instruction for The Mohegan Tribe. She develops and writes curriculum, collaborates with cultural and education departments, and leads many programs and events. This role is also a leadership position for the Mohegan Tribe’s Grant School programming, CT Teacher of the Year programming, and CT History Day programming with the Tribe.

Sam develops and implements professional development sessions with schools and organizations across the State of Connecticut focusing on the integration of Indigenous Studies into the classroom. Her passion and work ethic led her to receiving the Mohegan Tribe Employee Excellence Award in 2023.

Before this role, Sam was a classroom teacher of 8 years in public schools, leading her to the honor of being the 2020 Norwich District Teacher of the Year. Sam holds three degrees beginning with a Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education from Roger Williams University, a Master’s Degree in Education, as well as her 6th Year Degree in SEAL: Social, Emotional & Academic Learning for Social Justice Leadership from Sacred Heart University. With a goal to support all students and educators, Sam also completed her 092-certification program as a leader of education with Sacred Heart University.

Beth Regan

Beth Regan was elected to the Council of Elders in 2014, appointed to the position of Secretary in 2016 and Vice Chairwoman in 2020. Beth brings an extensive background in both education and athletics to her role on the Council of Elders.

With a career spanning over 35-years as a teacher at Tolland High School, she specialized in both Native American studies and Russian history, creating courses in both subjects. An integral part of the Mohegan Tribe’s partnership with the Connecticut Teacher of the Year Program, Beth has created curriculum and lessons on Mohegan history and culture for Connecticut teachers of all grade levels to incorporate into their instruction.

Outside the classroom, she has coached at the high school and collegiate levels, and has a strong interest in soccer, basketball and Unified Sports. Beth has also spent over 30 years as a coach and volunteer for the Special Olympics. Her work in all of these areas has earned her many citations as both Teacher of the Year and Coach of the Year, and she is a member of the athletic Halls of Fame at Eastern Connecticut State University, New Britain High School, and the Connecticut Girls Soccer Association.

She holds two degrees from Eastern Connecticut State University, both a Bachelor of Science degree in history and education and a Master’s degree in Human Relations, she was a longtime member of the Mohegan Board of Education and is a current member the Mohegan Tribe Language Committee.

Darlene Kascak

Darlene’s experience as an educator, tour guide, and Traditional Native American Storyteller has taught her the importance of educating both young and old about the many misconceptions and stereotypes about her ancestors. Her truthful and compassionate style of teaching from a Native American’s point of view allows over 10,000 children and adults the opportunity to have a new understanding of Connecticut’s Indigenous Peoples lives both in the past and in the present.

For me, my position at the museum is not just a job. It is what I am meant to do, my purpose in life, to preserve, protect and share the true stories of the Native American people in the past and present.

Readings & Other Resources

COMING SOON!

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The Pequot War Institute for K-12 Educators has been made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.