Mohicans Protest Wal-Mart Proposal Protential Store Site Sought As Research, Education Center

In the 17th century, Indians and colonists traded on Leeds Flats, a campground at the foot of the Catskill Mountains.

On Saturday, a group of Mohicans and residents protested a proposal to turn the site into a Wal-Mart.

“This site could tell us an awful lot about the way people lived here thousands of years ago,” said Robert B. Kuhn, a state historic preservation program coordinator. “It’s a very important site.”

The rural land, about 30 miles south of Albany, is a treasure-trove of Indian artifacts, Kuhn said. Objects found there include Indian ceramics and stone tools, along with bits of brass and copper and possible remnants of Dutch and English kettles.

“This site should be preserved as a research and education center. It has a potential to be a center for study,” said Chris Lindner, an anthropology professor at Bard College in Annandale-on-the-Hudson.

The site is roped off, so the protesters gathered across the street. The Mohicans built a fire and beat a drum as part of a blessing.

“It’s very exciting to know this site has been discovered,” said Leah Miller Heath, a council member of the Stockbridge Munsee Band of Mohicans in Wisconsin.

She wants to see further excavation to learn about the tribe’s history and culture. The Mohicans were forced to leave the region during the Colonial era.

“We’ve been striving for many years to recapture the knowledge,” Heath said.

Wal-Mart has an option to buy 35 areas of the flats, but the discount chain is conducting an archaeological study before deciding whether to continue, company spokeswoman Betsy Reithemeyer said Friday.

“We certainly understand the importance of that,” she said of the area’s historical significance.

Some residents have suggested that Wal-Mart relocate in an old shopping center in town that isn’t being used.

Visiting the area was particularly moving for Arlee Davids, a Mohican visiting from Wisconsin. “I could feel our ancestors are here. It was a sign,” she said.

Reithemeyer said Wal-Mart has worked before with Indian groups. When a burial ground was discovered at Paso Robles, Calif., WalMart set up a memorial and built around the site, she said.