The Last of the Mohicans (James Fenimore Cooper, 1826): the "vanishing Indian" myth, published four years before the 1830 Removal Act. Cooper merged two nations, the…
Year: 1826 · Places: Northeast
SUMMARYThe Last of the Mohicans (James Fenimore Cooper, 1826): the "vanishing Indian" myth, published four years before the 1830 Removal Act. Cooper merged two nations, the Mahican/Mohican (Hudson Valley) and the Mohegan (Connecticut); "Uncas" is a real 1600s Mohegan sachem's name. Mahomet Weyonomon (P124) was a Mohegan sachem of Uncas's line. Neither nation is "last": Mohican Nation (Stockbridge-Munsee Community) federally recognized, Wisconsin; Mohegan Tribe federally recognized 1994. Record. Lens: rule #8 in a book title (colonizer's verb of erasure) + duplication (two nations blended into one, then declared extinct). Drop idea: "NOT THE LAST" (1826 vs. 1994).