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"We are still here!" is the proud affirmation today of Long Island's Shinnecocks,
Unkechaugs (Poospatucks), Montauketts, and Matinecocks. These people are the
descendants of the original inhabitants of Long Island who spoke dialects of
the Algonquian language. Whether living on the Shinnecock Reservation in Southampton,
the Poospatuck Reservation in Mastic, or in other Long Island communities, today's
Algonquian peoples are proud of their distinct cultural traditions and their
survival as ethnic groups. The Powwow at Shinnecock may be the most visible
manifestation of their identity, but other cultural patterns are equally important,
including the continual struggle to protect, or reclaim, communal ownership
of land, the renewal of family and tribal ties at traditional gatherings, distinctive
foods and customs, as well as self identification and pride in being Native
Americans. Designed for the adult reader, it is valuable for all ages as the
reviews quoted below indicate.
John Strong has added an epilogue and new information in the notes for this
enlarged 2d edition covering recent developments, including a legal defense
of Shinnecock lands. This revised edition of "We Are Still Here!" The Algonquian
Peoples of Long Island Today, published in 1998 under the auspices of Hofstra
University's Long Island Studies Institute, has been updated and is one-third
larger than the original edition which was published in 1996.
Author:
John A. Strong is Professor Emeritus of History at Southampton College and the
leading ethnohistorian on Long Island. He examines this cultural articulation
of Long Island's Algonquian peoples in the recent past in this book. "We
Are Still Here!" is illustrated with more than ninety contemporary and archival
photographs, taken or selected by the author. It also includes several original
portraits of Indian chiefs and elders by Shinnecock artist, David Bunn Martine.
Publication
and Ordering Information:
"We Are Still Here!" is a 140-page, large size (7"x10") paperback;
the price is $14 (ISBN: 1-55787-152-3; LC: 96-86274). Individuals can order
from the publisher (Empire State Books, Heart of the Lakes Publishing, Box 299,
Interlaken, NY 14847; 607-532-4204; fax 607 532-4684, e-mail, HLPbooks@aol.com.
The Suffolk County Historical Society will also fill mail orders (300 West Main
Street, Riverhead, NY 11901, 631-727-2881, fax 631-727-3467, histsoc@suffolk.lib.ny.us).
Schools, bookstores, and libraries can purchase from the Long Island Studies
Institute, e-mail: LISI@Hofstra.edu, phone
516-463-6411; fax 516-463-6441.
This book is available at the Weathervane Shop of the Suffolk County Historical
Society in Riverhead (631-727-2881) and at the Southold Indian Museum (631-765-5577).
Contact the Institute for other locations where this and Strong's companion
book, The
Algonquian Peoples of Long Island from Earliest Times to 1700, can
be purchased locally: Long Island Studies Institute, Hofstra University West
Campus, 619 Fulton Avenue, Hempstead, NY 11549; 516-463-6411; fax 516-463-6441;
e-mail: LISI@Hofstra.edu
Contents:
Foreword by Natalie A. Naylor
Preface
1. Introduction: Native American Cultural Articulation on Long Island
2. The Continuing Struggle to Protect the Land Base
3. Communal Gatherings: June Meeting; The Powwow; Funerary Rituals
4. Shinnecock Community Association and Services
5. Cultural Articulation Among the Unkechaugs, Montauketts, and Matinecocks
Conclusion
Epilogue
Notes
Identification of Individuals
Bibliography
Readings and Resources on Long Island Indians
Index
Excerpts from Reviews:
"Strong's book is the best single source of information regarding the lives
of the Algonquian peoples of Long Island in the twentieth century. . . . In
summary, Strong presents a clearly written engrossing account of the modern
lives--marked by struggles and triumphs of the Native American peoples
of Long Island. 'We Are Still Here!' an important contribution to the
literature of the Island's Algonquian peoples, is highly recommended for readers
of all ages." --Daria E. Merwin, Institute for Long Island Archaeology, SUNY
at Stony Brook, Long Island Historical Journal 11 (Fall 1998): 113, 115.
"This brief book affirms the existence
of modern Native American communities that preserve and celebrate their rich
cultures. . . Although they number only a few hundred people, and many have
intermarried among neighboring white and African American populations, the Shinnecock
and Unkechaug tribes preserve a cultural continuity with the distant past. .
. . Strong has established a close association with these Algonquian people
and has relied heavily on their testimony in this study. The 50 photographs
of historical and present-day scenes, combined with a nontechnical and engaging
text, make this book useful to readers at all levels." --M.L. Tate, University
of Nebraska at Omaha, Choice, September 1997, p. 200.
"Professor John Strong has done a masterful job, scholarly yet readable, of
presenting the Algonquian life and culture--past, present and hopes for the
future--from talks with these living descendants on Long Island. Liberally sprinkled
with black and white photos, the book is a must for your Long Island collections
for those 4th and 7th grade reports. Index and reading lists included." --Mary
Jane Genovese, Children's Librarian at the East Meadow Public Library, in Nassau
Library System, Children's Services Book Review, List J-27, December 1996, p.
41.
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