Ralph Weston Sturges (December 25, 1918 – October 1, 2007) was an American Mohegan tribal chief who helped gain federal recognition for the Mohegan people of Connecticut in 1994. He also helped to found and build Connecticut's

Mohegan Sun Mohegan Sun is an American casino, owned and operated by the Mohegan Tribe on of their reservation, along the banks of the Thames River in Uncasville, Connecticut. It has of gambling space. It is in the foothills of southeastern Connecticut, ...

Casino. He held the title of "chief for life." The Mohegan tribe, which is based in Montville, Connecticut, is currently made up of approximately 1,700 people. The Mohegan's reservation is located in eastern Connecticut along the Thames River near the town of

Uncasville Uncasville is an area in the town of Montville, Connecticut, United States. It is a village in southeastern Montville, at the mouth of the Oxoboxo River where it flows into the Thames River. The name is now applied more generally to all of the ea ...

. The Mohegans are one of the wealthiest tribes in the United States, thanks to income from casinos and other facilities, whose construction was spearheaded by Sturges.

Personal life

Sturges was born December 25, 1918, in New London, Connecticut. He traced his Mohegan ancestry to his maternal great-grandmother, Emma Baker, a Mohegan medicine woman and early 1900s Native American activist who campaigned for the state to settle Mohegan land grievances. He served in the

U.S. military The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...

in an intelligence division in New Guinea and the Philippines. He was awarded a Bronze Star for his service in the war. Sturges worked in a number of professions before becoming active in Mohegan tribal affairs late in life. He worked as a

disaster relief Emergency management or disaster management is the managerial function charged with creating the framework within which communities reduce vulnerability to hazards and cope with disasters. Emergency management, despite its name, does not actuall ...

coordinator for the

Salvation Army Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...

and a payroll deliveryman for an armored car company, among other jobs. He was a skilled and active marble sculptor. His works were placed on display at the Connecticut State Capitol and other public buildings. Connecticut Governor

M. Jodi Rell Mary Carolyn "Jodi" Rell (née Reavis; born June 16, 1946) is an American former Republican politician and the 87th governor of Connecticut from 2004 until 2011. Rell also served as the state's 105th lieutenant governor of Connecticut. Rell was C ...

issued a statement following Sturges' death in 2007 saying, "He will be forever remembered for his contributions not only as a wise leader ... but as a skilled sculptor."

References

External links

The Hartford Courant: Mohegan Chief Dies
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sturges, Ralph W. 1918 births 2007 deaths Native American leaders Native American activists United States Army personnel of World War II Native American United States military personnel Native American sculptors Sculptors from Connecticut People from New London, Connecticut 20th-century American sculptors 20th-century American male artists American male sculptors Native American male artists