There is not a place on Long Island where we are not reminded of the original inhabitants. You don’t have to travel very far to find a town, park, school or body of water named for a local tribe or famous Native American. The original peoples of Long Island shared a culture, a language and a system of government that became more splintered once they came in contact with Europeans. Regardless, the individual tribes all recognized the authority of an inter-tribal chief, called a sachem.
According to the website, On This Site, a project to preserve and create awareness of culturally significant Native American locations on Long Island by Shinnecock artist Jeremy Dennis, the concept of thirteen distinct tribes wasn’t necessarily set in stone.
“Although most of the earlier historians describe thirteen groups having existed on Long Island when the first white settlers arrived, there seems to be no reason for supposing that this number was fixed and definite,” Dennis writes on the website Wiki.
Dennis’ project was supported through a grant from a 2016 Dreamstarter Grant from the national non-profit organization Running Strong for American Indian Youth. Through photography, he provided insight into how the Shinnecock people and reservation were able to remain on Long Island. The project presented an opportunity to reflect upon archaeological and oral histories to answer essential, culturally-defining questions.
“This project is inclusive for many audiences, as it creates a dialogue between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people on Long Island, and legitimizes the Long Island Indigenous population beyond their borders on reservations,” he wrote in his original Dreamstarter application.
Historians like to group things into neat packages, whether it's a time period or a geographic designation and there is some consensus on the thirteen tribes of Long Island even though they weren't as formalized as we might like to think.
“There seems to have been other, smaller groups from time to time and there is considerable confusion even concerning the thirteen that most [historians] mention," Dennis says on the website. "At this remote time we can only have a rough idea concerning the names and distributions of many of these.”
On This Site describes the 13 tribes as below. Click here to get a fuller description of each.
Canarsie - The Canarsies occupied territory on the western end of Long Island, including much of what is now Brooklyn and extending eastward to take in part of the former town of Jamaica. Being so near Manhattan Island, it is certain that they had frequent contact with the Indians living there, and there is some evidence that they had a settlement near the southern tip of that Island.
Rockaways – These peoples had their principal settlement at what is now Rockville Centre. Others were scattered throughout the southern part of the town of Hempstead and over a territory that extended from Rockville Centre west to Rockaway Beach and, perhaps north to Long Island Sound, including part of Jamaica. They also occupied some of the islands in the bays along the south shore.
Merricks – The Merricks had communities on the southern part of Long Island, from near Rockville Centre to the western line of the present town of Oyster Bay, and north to a line running east and west through the middle of the Island. Originally they had lived at the extreme western end of Long Island, but were forced to move east into the territory controlled largely by the Massapequas, which chieftaincy is said to have dominated them and demanded tribute. The Merricks had villages on several of the necks of land along the Great South Bay.
Massapequas – The boundaries of their land extended along the south shore from Seaford to Islip and north to an arbitrary line running east and west through the center of the Island. They had a large settlement at Fort Neck where there stood a fort. A battle was fought there with the white settlers near the middle of the seventeenth century, with very disastrous results to the Indians.
Matinecocks – This was one of the most prominent chieftaincies on the north shore. Its territory extended all the way from Flushing Bay, on the west, to the Nissequogue River, at Smithtown, and south to the center of the Island.
Nissaquogies - The territory of this chieftaincy was adjoined by the Matinecocks on the west, and extended eastward from the Nissequogue River to Stony Brook and south to the center of the Island. Apparently there was a disagreement for a time between the Nissequogue and Matinecock Indians concerning their boundary and, as a consequence, they did not always enjoy friendly relations.
Setaukets - This north shore chieftaincy occupied the territory from Stony Brook to Wading River and south to the center of the Island. They had a village at Setauket and others on the various necks of land in that vicinity on the north shore.
Corchaugs - They controlled the land to the east of the Setaukets. Their territory was bounded on the west by a line extending from Wading River to the center of the Island and east along the north fluke of the Island to Orient Point. They also occupied several of the necks of land along the north shore of Peconic Bay.
Secatogues - The territory of the Secatogues was to the east of that occupied by the Massapequas. It extended along the south shore from Islip to Patchogue and north to the center of the Island. They occupied many camp and village sites along the tidal creeks that flow into the Great South Bay.
Unkechaugs - It appears that these tribal people have been often incorrectly referred to as the Patchogues and sometimes the Poospatuck. Their land extended along the south shore from Patchogue as far east as Westhampton, and perhaps, to Canoe Place.
Shinnecock - The Shinnecock were one of the most famous and powerful of the chieftaincies on the Island. Their territory included the southern fluke of Long Island from Westhampton or Canoe Place to East Hampton. It also took in several of the necks of land along the south shore of Peconic Bay.
Montaukett - Recognized as having been the most powerful group on the eastern end of Long Island and probably throughout its extent, from the narrows to Montauk Point. The Montauk chieftaincy controlled all the land on the southern fluke from East Hampton to the extreme eastern tip. They also occupied Gardiner’s Island, which lies between the north and south flukes of Long Island.
Manhansets - This was apparently a large chieftaincy of considerable importance in the early days. They occupied Shelter Island, Hog Island and Ram Island, between the north and south flukes. They were also compelled to pay tribute to the peoples of the mainland with whom they were in a continual state of war.
More about Jeremy Dennis and the On This Site project: Dennis was one of 10 recipients of a 2016 Dreamstarter Grant from the national non-profit organization Running Strong for American Indian Youth. He was awarded $10,000 to pursue his project, On This Site, which uses photography and an interactive online map to showcase culturally significant Native American sites on Long Island, a topic of special meaning for Dennis, who was raised on the Shinnecock Nation Reservation. He also created a book and exhibition from this project. Most recently, Dennis received the Creative Bursar Award from Getty Images in 2018 to continue his series Stories.
Photo: Left, Princess Occum (Eliza Beaman), Right, Anthony Beaman (Chief Running Bull). The East Hampton Library, Long Island Collection. For any other use, please contact The Long Island Collection, East Hampton Library, 159 Main St., East Hampton, NY 11937. 631-324-0222 x 4 or email lic@easthamptonlibrary.org.