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In 2019, the Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame posthumously inducted two Mashantucket Pequot ancestors—Elizabeth George Plouffe and Martha “Matt” Langevin—in a ceremonial gala event held in Hartford.
The two women were the only residents of the Mashantucket (Western) Pequot Indian Reservation for most of the 1960’s and 1970’s. During that time, they helped each other survive and hold on to the land until former Chairman and visionary, Richard “Skip” Hayward—a grandson of Elizabeth George-Plouffe—began leading the Tribe to achieve state and federal recognition, develop a strong economy, preserve the Tribe’s ancestral lands, and bring Pequots home to Mashantucket.
Elizabeth George Plouffe (“Iron Woman”) was born March 19, 1895 at the Mashantucket (Western) Pequot Indian Reservation. Elizabeth was the daughter of Cyrus George and Martha Hoxie George. One of seven children born of Cyrus and Martha, Elizabeth also had four half-siblings from her mother’s subsequent marriage to Napoleon Langevin—including her sister Martha “Matt” Langevin, who became her companion and neighbor.
A lifelong resident of Mashantucket, Elizabeth was widely known for preserving Pequot land and culture. She was also the tribe’s ambassador, working alongside others to advocate for the sovereignty of Connecticut tribes, and occasionally gained media attention. In 1968, local police arrested Elizabeth for owning unlicensed dogs. The Hartford Courant chronicled the case which Elizabeth fought and won through Connecticut State Court, affirming her right as a Pequot resident of Mashantucket to not be required to license her animals in Ledyard.
Elizabeth had seven children and was a beloved grandmother of 19; some of whom lived with and learned from her for weeks or months at a time. As a young adult, Elizabeth worked as a baker at the historic Wauregan Hotel in Norwich Connecticut, and later as a domestic caretaker for a local wealthy family. She was an expert at living off the land; gardening and preserving foods, and her baked goods were revered by locals for miles around. She also learned traditional herbal medicine from her mother, Martha Hoxie George, and practiced cultivating a variety of indigenous plants for their healing uses.
Martha Ann “Matt” Langevin was born on April 16, 1901 on the Mashantucket (Western) Pequot Indian Reservation. Matt was the daughter of Napoleon Langevin and Martha Hoxie George. She was one of four children born of Napoleon and Martha, and had seven half-siblings from her mother’s previous marriage; including her sister Elizabeth. Matt’s French-Canadian father, Napoleon, was a lumberjack, trained baker and snake-handler who captured snakes for local zoos. Her Pequot mother, Martha Hoxie, was a housewife who rented rooms in her home to local lumberjacks. Napoleon developed a “snake dance” act while Martha sold hot dogs and ice cream to tourists. The act ended in 1909 after Napoleon barely survived a bite from a poisonous copperhead. Matt hated snakes and was known to carry a shotgun with her at all times, blasting the heads off of every copperhead she’d encounter on the Reservation.
Although Matt never had children of her own, she was a beloved Aunt to many Pequot children who visited her and her sister Elizabeth. Her daily responsibilities included root vegetable gardening, preserving food and watching over her ancestral lands. When state and local government officials would attempt to take land away, Matt wasn’t afraid to confront them…even to the point of using her trusty shotgun to scare them off.
Elizabeth and Matt relied on each other to live on the Reservation. Although life at Mashantucket grew increasingly difficult for them as they aged, the sisters never gave up their passion for holding onto their ancestral land. They even declined an offer from state officials to give up their homes and spend their remaining years in nearby retirement facilities. Had the women accepted the offer, the Reservation would’ve been turned into a state park and the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe would’ve been eliminated, once and for all.
The two sisters’ passion for Pequot history and tribal sovereignty, as well as their determination to hold onto the land, inspired generations of Pequots to continue advocating for their Tribe and Reservation. Today, the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe is a thriving, successful community of more than 1000 members; an inspiring example of survival, courage and restoration that would not have been possible without the legacies of Elizabeth George Plouffe and Martha “Matt” Langevin.
For more information, visit the Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center.