Emma Tyler Fielding Baker December 5, 1828 – January 20, 1916) was a member of the

Mohegan The Mohegan are an Indigenous people originally based in what is now southeastern Connecticut in the United States. They are part of the Eastern Algonquian linguistic and cultural family and historically shared close ties with the neighboring ...

Pequot Indian tribe and was posthumously awarded the title of

medicine woman in 1992. Medicine women were culture-bearers and required to have an in-depth knowledge of tribal customs and possess good leadership qualities. She was also a tribal historian and ceremonial leader of the Mohegan Tribe.

Early life and family

Baker was born in the village of Mohegan (now Fort Shantok, Montville, Conn.) on December 5, 1828, to Francis Fielding and Rachel Commenwas Hoscott and was one of ten children. As an adult, Baker helped preserve tribal historical records and oral traditions thus becoming known as a culture-bearer. Baker married a Mohegan man named Henry Greenwood Baker on November 30, 1854, who became the father of her eight children.

Leadership within the tribe

In 1860, Baker served as the president of the Church Ladies Sewing Society which was considered to be an auxiliary of the Mohegan Church. This group of women worked to preserve Mohegan culture and, as part of their matriarchal role within the tribe, considered new chiefs and decided land claims. This group met regularly at the Mohegan Church in Montville, Conn. One of Baker's actions as president was to restore an ancient Mohegan Green Corn Festival nicknamed the "Wigwam Festival" ("wigwam" meaning "welcome"). This Festival continues into the present as a celebration of Mohegan tribal culture and is annually held during the third weekend in August. Because the Mohegan Green Corn Festival was to be held on the grounds of the Mohegan Congregational Church (whose land was tribally owned), this provided solidarity for the tribe in the following years when the reservation land was eventually broken up. Baker also served as a Sunday School teacher at the Mohegan Church. Baker was elected president of the Mohegan Indian League in 1896. She represented the Mohegan Nation before the all-white, all-male

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

legislature as part of an endeavor to protect Mohegan land and sacred sites. She also chaired the Mohegan tribal council. and documented the desecration of the Norwich Royal Mohegan Burial Ground. Baker also lent some "Indian Relics" to the Converse Art Gallery in Norwich, Conn., for display in honor of the anniversary of the town on Saturday, July 3, 1909; this display was curated by the

Daughters of the American Revolution The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (often abbreviated as DAR or NSDAR) is a lineage-based membership service organization for women who are directly descended from a patriot of the American Revolutionary War. A non-p ...

. Long after her death, she was posthumously elected as a member of the

Connecticut Women's Hall of Fame The Connecticut Women's Hall of Fame (CWHF) recognizes women natives or residents of the U.S. state of Connecticut for their significant achievements or statewide contributions. The CWHF had its beginnings in 1993 when a group of volunteers part ...

in 1994.

Later life and legacy

Baker was a "nanu" (mentor or respected elder woman) to her niece

Gladys Tantaquidgeon Gladys Iola Tantaquidgeon (June 15, 1899 – November 1, 2005) was a Mohegan medicine woman, anthropologist, author, tribal council member, and elder based in Connecticut.

, by instructing her in tribal spirituality and herbal medicine which Baker had learned from Martha Uncas, her grand-aunt. Baker died on January 20, 1916, and is buried at Shantok Burial Grounds in Uncasville, Conn. Baker was immortalized in 2017 by artist Adam Chambers when he created her portrait for one of eleven ornaments to decorate one of the 56 trees representing each U.S. state and territory at the

President's Park President's Park, located in downtown Washington, D.C., encompasses the White House and includes the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, the Treasury Building, and grounds; the White House Visitor Center; Lafayette Square; and The Ellips ...

in Washington, D.C. She was selected because she is considered a Connecticut native who dedicated her life to promote tolerance and diversity. Ralph W. Sturges (1918–2007), Baker's great-grandson, was instrumental in assisting the Mohegan Tribe achieve construction of the Mohegan Sun Casino on 240 acres of the Tribe's reservation land in Uncasville, Conn. The casino opened October 12, 1996, eighty years after Baker's death. With proceeds from this casino, the Mohegan Tribe was able to contribute $10 million to the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

toward building the

National Museum of the American Indian The National Museum of the American Indian is a museum in the United States devoted to the culture of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas. It is part of the Smithsonian Institution group of museums and research centers. The museum has three ...

Gallery

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, Emma People from Connecticut 1828 births 1916 deaths Indigenous American traditional healers Native American leaders 19th-century Native American women 19th-century Native American people 20th-century Native American women 20th-century Native American people Mohegan people Native American history of Connecticut 20th-century American women physicians 20th-century American physicians Native American people from Connecticut