The Long Blue Line (Winter 2021)

Photo provided by the Tantaquidgeon Museum, Uncasville, CT
CPO Harold
Tantaquidgeon
Born in 1904, in Uncasville, CT, Tantaquidgeon’s
formal education ceased at eighth grade.
However, at home, he received a lifetime
education by the elders of the Mohegan Tribe.
Tantaquidgeon served in three branches of the
military: the U.S. Coast Guard, prior to World War
II, The U.S. Air Corps during World War II and
the U.S. Army during the Korean War. For his
efforts during WWII, Tantaquidgeon received the
coveted Air Medal.
In 1921, Harold enlisted in the Coast Guard on
board the cable-laying vessel Pequot. In 1927,
Tantaquidgeon advanced to Chief Boatswain’s
Mate becoming the first Native American Chief
Petty Officer in the Service. That same year, he
became officer-in-charge of the 75-foot cutter, CG-
289, and the first Native American to command
a Coast Guard cutter. BMC Tantaquidgeon left
the service in 1930, after commanding CG-289
in Prohibition law enforcement operations for
three years and serving nine years overall. He
returned to Connecticut where he later became
Chief Tantaquidgeon, head of the Mohegan Tribe
from 1952 to 1970.
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