 " Gold Hill " was the first Indian reservation in the colony , established in 1659 and confirmed in 1678 . Indians were also explicitly permitted to use public lands for hunting . In other instances , the colony resolved land disputes between competing Indians . Other reservations were established for the Mohegans in New London in 1718 and others in 1726 ( which were exempted from the application of adverse possession ) , including the Pequot 's before 1731 . 
