Post by blackcrowheart on Oct 10, 2007 13:19:48 GMT -5
Mohegan Chief Ralph Sturges, A Friend To All, Is Laid To Rest
By
Sean D. Elliot
SEAN D. ELLIOT/The Day
• The Unity of Nations drummers lead the funeral procession of tribal members, family and friends from the Mohegan Congregational Church to the tribal burial
grounds at Fort Shantok where Mohegan Tribal Chief Ralph Sturges was laid to rest on Friday
ttp://www.theday.com/re.aspx?re=f16dc9f2-d351-4ed7-abef-bd1a84bbab43
Mohegan — Ralph Weston Sturges took his place among Mohegan chiefs who came before him Friday as tribal members buried his remains in a grove of cedars
at Fort Shantok.
The lifetime chief of the Mohegans died Monday of complications from lung cancer. He was 88. His wife of 58 years, Ida Sturges, died in May and is buried
beside him.
Leaders from state government and tribal nations, business executives and longtime friends joined Sturges' family and fellow Mohegans in a procession from
the tribe's church on Mohegan Hill to the burial grounds at Fort Shantok. Through woods and back roads of Uncasville, on a foggy, humid October morning,
hundreds walked behind the honor guard of elders who carried a wooden chest containing an urn with the chief's remains.
Watch slideshow of funeral procession.
The graveside ceremony that followed combined elements of the varied facets of Sturges' long life: American Indian drumming, singing and symbolic offerings
befitting a respected tribal leader; Christian prayer for a faithful church member; and a military gun salute and flag ceremony for a decorated U.S. Army
veteran.
Contingents from the Mashantucket Pequots, Eastern Pequots and Narragansetts attended the funeral along with representatives of the Wampanoag, Ojibwe, Chickasaw
and Sioux tribes. Lt. Gov. Michael Fedele and state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal represented the state of Connecticut, and from the U.S. House of
Representatives came Joe Courtney, D-2nd District.
Sturges' Mohegan name was "Gtinemong," meaning "He Who Helps Thee," and he often said one of his greatest accomplishments was helping his tribe attain federal
recognition in 1994. The federal status helped the tribe build its gaming empire and ensure stability for generations to follow, but Sturges always stressed
that the Mohegans also cared about their neighbors and wanted their success to benefit all.
" 'When we achieved federal recognition,' he said, 'we are no longer the little tribe on the hill. We are the nation on the hill,' " said tribal historian
Melissa Tantaquidgeon Zobel.
Tribal Chairman Bruce "Two Dogs" Bozsum said Sturges had lived "the Mohegan way," doing the right thing for his tribe and remaining friends with non-Indians
even if they had differences of opinion. Bozsum often turned to Sturges for advice, as did Mark Brown, the past tribal chairman.
Brown's voice broke as he eulogized Sturges, whom he called "boss." Brown said the chief had ordered him to get more involved with the tribe in the 1990s,
and he had listened. He said Sturges had continued to tell jokes and enjoy life even as his health was failing.
Brown said he went to see Sturges recently, and the first thing the chief said was, "Go over and try out my stair-lift chair." Brown complied, laughing.
Sturges had forged the tribe's partnership with Trading Cove Associates, the group that helped the tribe gain federal recognition and build its casino.
One of the key players in that deal, Len Wolman, remembered Sturges Friday as a man of integrity and passion.
"When I first met Chief in 1992, my partners and I knew immediately he was the kind of person you took at his word," said Wolman, who is chairman of the
Waterford Group LLC. "Chief liked to remind us that our business deal was sealed with a handshake."
Wolman said that in Sturges he had found a friend as well as a business partner, and that he would cherish that relationship forever. He offered condolences
to Sturges' son, Paul, and his family members, and to the tribe at large.
"May the chief's legacy live on forever as you continue to celebrate your heritage," he said.
Kenneth Reels, vice chairman of the Mashantuckets, gave an eagle feather from his headdress to Paul Sturges, saying it is the greatest honor one Indian
leader could bestow on another. Later, a member of the Veterans Honor Guard presented Sturges with a perfectly folded American flag.
Besides his son, Sturges is survived by his sister, Doris Clark; his daughter-in-law, JoAnne; two grandchildren and two great grandchildren.
Everyone who knew him felt a special bond with Sturges, from workers and customers at the tribe's casino whose names he took time to learn, to the attorney
general. Blumenthal said Sturges led him around the tribe's casino site when it was nothing but a pile of mud and watched gleefully as Blumenthal ruined
his shoes. The chief had reminded him of that incident for years to follow, Blumenthal said.
"Of all the things in life that give me pride, being a friend of Ralph Sturges was one of the greatest," said Blumenthal. "He was one great human, and I
loved the man."
Courtney said Sturges had "led his tribal nation from the shadows of society to full federal recognition," and that the tribe's subsequent achievements
are staggering.
Courtney memorialized Sturges in the House of Representatives a day earlier.
"What an amazing man, and yet anyone who met him was struck by his down-to-earth nature," Courtney said.
Tribal members placed several traditional offerings into Sturges' grave, including a quartz crystal arrowhead laid on top of his urn to enable him to hunt
in the "happy hunting grounds," according to Zobel, the tribal historian. She said the elders put in some wampum and added an eagle feather from the tribal
staff so that "his spirit will soar like the eagle."
By
Sean D. Elliot
SEAN D. ELLIOT/The Day
• The Unity of Nations drummers lead the funeral procession of tribal members, family and friends from the Mohegan Congregational Church to the tribal burial
grounds at Fort Shantok where Mohegan Tribal Chief Ralph Sturges was laid to rest on Friday
ttp://www.theday.com/re.aspx?re=f16dc9f2-d351-4ed7-abef-bd1a84bbab43
Mohegan — Ralph Weston Sturges took his place among Mohegan chiefs who came before him Friday as tribal members buried his remains in a grove of cedars
at Fort Shantok.
The lifetime chief of the Mohegans died Monday of complications from lung cancer. He was 88. His wife of 58 years, Ida Sturges, died in May and is buried
beside him.
Leaders from state government and tribal nations, business executives and longtime friends joined Sturges' family and fellow Mohegans in a procession from
the tribe's church on Mohegan Hill to the burial grounds at Fort Shantok. Through woods and back roads of Uncasville, on a foggy, humid October morning,
hundreds walked behind the honor guard of elders who carried a wooden chest containing an urn with the chief's remains.
Watch slideshow of funeral procession.
The graveside ceremony that followed combined elements of the varied facets of Sturges' long life: American Indian drumming, singing and symbolic offerings
befitting a respected tribal leader; Christian prayer for a faithful church member; and a military gun salute and flag ceremony for a decorated U.S. Army
veteran.
Contingents from the Mashantucket Pequots, Eastern Pequots and Narragansetts attended the funeral along with representatives of the Wampanoag, Ojibwe, Chickasaw
and Sioux tribes. Lt. Gov. Michael Fedele and state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal represented the state of Connecticut, and from the U.S. House of
Representatives came Joe Courtney, D-2nd District.
Sturges' Mohegan name was "Gtinemong," meaning "He Who Helps Thee," and he often said one of his greatest accomplishments was helping his tribe attain federal
recognition in 1994. The federal status helped the tribe build its gaming empire and ensure stability for generations to follow, but Sturges always stressed
that the Mohegans also cared about their neighbors and wanted their success to benefit all.
" 'When we achieved federal recognition,' he said, 'we are no longer the little tribe on the hill. We are the nation on the hill,' " said tribal historian
Melissa Tantaquidgeon Zobel.
Tribal Chairman Bruce "Two Dogs" Bozsum said Sturges had lived "the Mohegan way," doing the right thing for his tribe and remaining friends with non-Indians
even if they had differences of opinion. Bozsum often turned to Sturges for advice, as did Mark Brown, the past tribal chairman.
Brown's voice broke as he eulogized Sturges, whom he called "boss." Brown said the chief had ordered him to get more involved with the tribe in the 1990s,
and he had listened. He said Sturges had continued to tell jokes and enjoy life even as his health was failing.
Brown said he went to see Sturges recently, and the first thing the chief said was, "Go over and try out my stair-lift chair." Brown complied, laughing.
Sturges had forged the tribe's partnership with Trading Cove Associates, the group that helped the tribe gain federal recognition and build its casino.
One of the key players in that deal, Len Wolman, remembered Sturges Friday as a man of integrity and passion.
"When I first met Chief in 1992, my partners and I knew immediately he was the kind of person you took at his word," said Wolman, who is chairman of the
Waterford Group LLC. "Chief liked to remind us that our business deal was sealed with a handshake."
Wolman said that in Sturges he had found a friend as well as a business partner, and that he would cherish that relationship forever. He offered condolences
to Sturges' son, Paul, and his family members, and to the tribe at large.
"May the chief's legacy live on forever as you continue to celebrate your heritage," he said.
Kenneth Reels, vice chairman of the Mashantuckets, gave an eagle feather from his headdress to Paul Sturges, saying it is the greatest honor one Indian
leader could bestow on another. Later, a member of the Veterans Honor Guard presented Sturges with a perfectly folded American flag.
Besides his son, Sturges is survived by his sister, Doris Clark; his daughter-in-law, JoAnne; two grandchildren and two great grandchildren.
Everyone who knew him felt a special bond with Sturges, from workers and customers at the tribe's casino whose names he took time to learn, to the attorney
general. Blumenthal said Sturges led him around the tribe's casino site when it was nothing but a pile of mud and watched gleefully as Blumenthal ruined
his shoes. The chief had reminded him of that incident for years to follow, Blumenthal said.
"Of all the things in life that give me pride, being a friend of Ralph Sturges was one of the greatest," said Blumenthal. "He was one great human, and I
loved the man."
Courtney said Sturges had "led his tribal nation from the shadows of society to full federal recognition," and that the tribe's subsequent achievements
are staggering.
Courtney memorialized Sturges in the House of Representatives a day earlier.
"What an amazing man, and yet anyone who met him was struck by his down-to-earth nature," Courtney said.
Tribal members placed several traditional offerings into Sturges' grave, including a quartz crystal arrowhead laid on top of his urn to enable him to hunt
in the "happy hunting grounds," according to Zobel, the tribal historian. She said the elders put in some wampum and added an eagle feather from the tribal
staff so that "his spirit will soar like the eagle."