On Indigenous People’s Day from contemporary fine art photographer and tribal member of the Shinnecock Indian Nation, Jeremy Dennis:
‘The inhabitants of Long Island shared a desire for peace. They became expert whalers and deep sea fishermen. They worshiped the same gods and placated the same evil spirits. They talked the same language and followed the same customs… Their thirteen so-called tribes were united in an island-wide confederation. Each tribe had its own territory whose unmarked bounds were recognized and respected by the others. Each had its own chief but all acknowledged the authority of one inter-tribal grand sachem.
…Despite the endless oppression visited upon Long Island Natives, they have endured in force at Shinnecock, at Poosepatuck, in small communities at Eastville (Sag Harbor), Freetown (East Hampton), and Lakeville (Lake Success), and scattered throughout Long Island’s population.
Historians and local journalists in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries left their readers with the false perception that because the Natives had intermarried with other ethnic groups, they had lost their tribal identity and have “deteriorated” into “mixed racial remnant” communities. These racist attitudes prevalent among early local historians continue to capture the public imagination and place an unpleasant burden on the indigenous people of Long Island to defend the integrity of their identity and tribal heritage.’
Right now the Montaukett Indian Nation needs your support in getting New York State Governor Kathy Hochul to sign the Montaukett Recognition Bill S6889/A4069 into Law. Pls sign here.
[Photograph by Jeremy Dennis from his series Shinnecock Portrait Project]
