Earlier this year, when the time had come to select a new chief for the Mohegan Nation, Marilynn (Lynn) Malerba ’08 MPA submitted her nomination for a tribal member who had worked many years to gain federal recognition for the tribe and whose efforts ultimately helped establish the successful Mohegan Sun Casino.
But when the Council of Elders asked to meet with Malerba, the great-granddaughter of Burrill Fielding, the tribe’s chief from 1937 to 1952, she was surprised to learn they had someone else in mind for the position – her.
“When they told me, you could have knocked me out of a chair,” says Malerba, a rising leader in the tribe who had become chairwoman of the nine-member Tribal Council in 2009 after serving on the council for five years. On Aug. 15, she was installed as the 17th chief of the 1,800-member Mohegan Tribe.
“It is a big responsibility,” she says. “You will be the enduring face of the tribe for as long as you are able to be.”
Lifetime Appointment
Under the Mohegan constitution, the chief has a lifetime appointment and advises the two councils in matters of policy. Many ceremonial functions also are performed by the chief.
Malerba is the second woman to serve as tribal chief. For a brief period in 1723, Anne Uncas served as interim chief. Among the 580 federally recognized Indian tribes, many are led by women, according to the National Congress of American Indians.
Malerba says women always have been informal leaders within Indian tribes, with or without a formal title. “Tribes were always egalitarian, more so than perhaps the rest of society was in the past,” she says. “I certainly interact with many women leaders in Indian Country at the national level.”
She says that because the role of chief does not have a formal job description under the tribe’s constitution, she will meet with the Mohegan community to learn what they expect from their new chief.
“The role of the chief is not concretely defined because each chief will have challenges in their lifetime that others have not faced,” she says, noting that her experience on the Tribal Council and as its chairwoman will provide insight into how to advise the tribal leadership. “I see the chief as someone who provides continuity. I have known a lot of our past leaders. We have to carry their thoughts and wishes forward.”
One area Malerba says is one of her priorities is to ensure a secure future for the next generation of Mohegans. The downturn in the national and local economy has affected all Connecticut businesses, including Mohegan Sun, which has delayed new projects. She says the tribe must diversify its sources of income in order to provide for future generations.
“We have a very young tribe,” she says. “Forty-five percent of our membership is under the age of 18. If we want the next generation to enjoy the benefits of health care, retirement community housing, and education, we need to endow those services. We’ve been very fortunate in providing those services for the current generation, but we need to think about endowing those services for future generations. Looking to other business sectors (beyond gaming) would be a very wise decision.”
As chief, Malerba will be the public face of the Mohegan Tribe and the business interests she has helped to guide as chairwoman of the Tribal Council. A former critical care nurse and hospital administrator, she served as executive director of the tribe’s health and human services department before joining the Council.
In January, she was named to Global Gaming Business magazine’s annual list of “25 People to Watch” as a leader of “the government of a tribe with a multibilliondollar gaming empire employing some 8,000 people at Connecticut’s Mohegan Sun resort alone.”
Malerba’s growing responsibilities within the Tribal Council led to her decision to pursue a master’s degree in public affairs at UConn.
“I was looking at broader policy issues even in my position as health and human services director,” she says. “You have to look at things in a different way, address critical issues in a very broad and encompassing way, so that as you are setting policy for the future, it is enduring and not just being reactionary.”
Choosing a New Name
Until her selection as chief, Malerba had not chosen a tribal name, something that she had been reluctant to do when younger, saying she was not comfortable with giving herself a new name. As chief, however, it was necessary.
She followed tradition in consulting with the tribe’s medicine woman, discussing who she was as a person and who the tribe hopes she will be as a leader. With her history as a nurse, her deep knowledge of Mohegan culture and history, and the many people whom she has helped over her lifetime, the choice of a tribal name seemed clear – Mutawi Mutahash, translated as “Many Hearts.”
According to tradition, a mark representing the chief was created. It includes a heart that represents all the hearts she has cared for and all those to come. Two flowers represent her two daughters, and cornstalks are included because corn is considered medicine or food of life. Three dots each on the left and right sides of the heart represent past, present, and future Mohegan family members.
“‘Many Hearts’ are the hearts I’ve cared for in the past, the ones I know today, and those I have yet to meet,” Malerba says. “That felt right for me.”
