In 2022, Camp Mohawk’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Committee worked in collaboration with members of the Institute for American Indian Studies (IAIS) and Sioux YMCA to draft Mohawk’s first Land Acknowledgement, which is displayed in the Rec Hall and at the trailhead near Moore Lodge leading up Mohawk Mountain.
In the spirit of honor, respect, and gratitude, we would like to acknowledge that Camp Mohawk, Mohawk Pond, and Mohawk Mountain encompass the ancestral homelands of many Indigenous people across several tribes, including Mohican/Mahikan and Schaghticoke Tribe, originally known as the Weantinock.
One of Camp Mohawk’s longstanding missions is to instill in its campers and staff an appreciation and stewardship of the natural world. This mission is embodied in the opening stanza of the Camp Mohawk Creed:
We believe in the wonder of the out-of-doors
In the inspiration of the stars.
In the allurement of life in the open.
We believe in the strength of the hills,
In the silence of the night,
In the music of the birds and the trees.
Through these beliefs, a century of campers have become connected to this space and have gained an appreciation for the Indigenous people who have stewarded this land since time immemorial. Our love of the place asks us to recognize and understand the complicated history of the Indigenous people of this land and their descendants that have inspired us to be good stewards.
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