Follow
The Montauk Tribe of Indians are the modern incarnation of an Algonquian-speaking Native American people from the eastern and central sections of Long Island, New York.
Montauk Indians (meaning uncertain). A term that has been used in different senses, sometimes limited to the particular hand or tribe known by this name, but in a broader sense including most of the tribes of Long Island, excepting those about the west end. It is occasionally used incorrectly as equivalent to Metoac. The Indians of Long Island were closely related to the Indians of Massachusetts and Connecticut.
The Montauk, in the limited sense, formerly occupied Easthampton township, Suffolk county, at the east end of Long Island, and controlled all the other tribes of the island, except those near the west end. That these so called tribes were but parts of one group or tribe, or the loosely connected elements of what had been an organized body, seems apparent. Ruttenber, speaking of the Montauk in the limited sense, says: “This chieftaincy was acknowledged both by the Indians and the Europeans as the ruling family of the island. They were indeed the head of the tribe of Montauk, the other divisions named being simply clans or groups, as in the case of other tribes. Wyandance, their sachem, was also the grand sachem of Paumanacke, or Sewanhackey, as the island was called. Nearly all the deeds for lands were confirmed by him. His younger brothers, Nowedonah and Poygratasuck [Poggatacut], were respectively sachems of the Shinnecock and the Manhasset.” The Rockaway and Cannarsee at the west end were probably not included. It is doubtful whether he is correct in including the west-end Indians in the confederacy.
History
The principal Montauk village, which probably bore the name of the tribe; was about Fort Pond, near Montauk Point. The Pequot made them and their subordinates tributary, and on the destruction of that tribe in 1637, the Narraganset began a series of attacks which finally, about 1659, forced the Montauk, who had lost the greater part of their number by pestilence, to retire for protection to the whites at Easthampton. Since 1641 they had been tributary to New England. When first known they were numerous, and even after the pestilence of 1658-59, were estimated at about 500. Then began a rapid decline, and a century later only 162 remained, most of whom joined the Brotherton Indians of New York, about 1788, so that in 1829 only about 30 were left on Long Island, and 40 years later these had dwindled to half a dozen individuals, who, with a few Shinnecock, were the last representatives of the Long Island tribes. They preserved a form of tribal organization into the 19th century and retained their hereditary chiefs until the death of their last “king,” David Pharaoh, about 1875. A few mixed bloods are still officially recognized by the state of New York as constituting a tribe under Wyandanch Pharaoh, son of David.
In 1906, New York State passed legislation to enable the Montaukett to establish land claims through colonial deeds from 1660 through 1702 but, as a result of the court battle, the Montaukett lost their legal status and right to compensation, and Judge Abel Blackmar declared to more than 20 Montauketts in the courtroom and scores waiting outside that the tribe had ceased to exist and that they had therefore lost their claim to the reservation. In 2022 - a bill to acknowledge the tribe has passed by the state Legislature for the fourth time, and Gov. Kathy Hochul vetoed it in December 2022.
Culture and Livelihood
The Native Americans of the east end of the Island shared a common culture with each other and with Lenape groups along most of the northern shore of what is now called Long Island Sound. The Montauk are specifically related in language and ethnicity to the Pequot and Narragansett peoples who live across Long Island Sound in what is now Connecticut and Rhode Island. American ethnologist John R. Swanton identified the following subdivisions of the Montauk: Corehaug, Manhasset, Massapequa, Matinecock, Merric, Montauk (proper), Nesaquake, Patchoque, Rockaway, Secatogue, Setauket, and Shinnecock. Swanton also identified several Montauk villages including Aquebogue, Ashamomuck, Cutchogue, Massapequa, Merric, Montauk, Nesaquake, Patchogue, and Rechquaakie.
The pre-colonial Montaukett manufactured wampompeag (or wampum) from quahog clamshells available on Long Island. Before the Montaukett obtained metal awls from the Europeans, the Montaukett artisans would make "disk-shaped beads from quahog shells ... used for trade and for tribute payments" with the nearby tribes. The Montaukett farmed, fished, hunted, and gathered food. The colonial Montauketts participated in the new European economic and cultural systems by using their traditional skills: hunting to provide game and fowl for colonists' tables: woodworking to make bowls, scrubs, tools, toys, and later, houses and mills, craftwork to make baskets, eel pots, and rush and cane bottoms for chairs. The "women would harvest corn, squash, and beans." While the men fished and hunted whales, by using their dugout canoes, made by hollowing out large trees. They also participated in the economy by purchasing their guns and sometimes furniture from the local colonial craftsmen. The Montauketts skilled at whaling were eagerly sought after by those engaged in the trade. Between 1677 and 1684, a documented system of credit allowed indigenous men (and their families) to purchase goods from local merchants and traders, in exchange for their share (or “lay”) of the catch during the following whaling season. Eventually, the in-shore whaling operations over-fished the local seas, and Indigenous labor from the Montauketts and other Native American groups was vital to deep-sea whaling throughout the late eighteenth century. Even both Rev. Horton and Rev. Occum mentioned in their records (as late as ca. 1740–1760) that Montaukett men were working at sea during their visits.
"We Are Still Here"
The Indigenous peoples of Montauk once resided in great numbers on the eastern end of Long Island, New York. Due to the colonization of North America and a 1910 unjust ruling by Judge Blackmar, the Montauk Nation was wrongfully disenfranchised from their ancestral lands and told that they no longer existed as a tribe. Today the Montauk are calling for the State of New York and the Federal Government to right this wrong. Though there are several bands of Montauk and many Montauk reside in different cities throughout Long Island, NY and the United States, they are still connected to the rich culture and traditions of their ancestors and remain united by their determination to receive justice for their tribe. The Montauk Tribe of Indians Council of Elders recognizes all Montauk, no matter where you live, as relatives and citizens of One Montauk Nation.
Notable Montaukett
- Mongotucksee, Sachem of Montaukett (c. 1550 - 1595)
- Cockenoe, (born before 1630 and died after 1687) early translator for the Eliot Indian Bible, the first Bible printed in America.
- Wyandanch, Grand Sachem of Montaukett born about 1620, probably near Eaton's Neck, Long Island, died 1659, was a Montauk Indian sachem, His name translates as "wise speaker". He was the most distinguished of the Montauk sachems who had authority over a confederacy of thirteen distinct tribes on what is now Long Island, New York.
- Samson Occom (1723 – July 14, 1792), co-created the Brotherton Plan
- David Fowler (c. 1735-1807), co-created the Brotherton Plan
- Stephen Talkhouse (Stephen Taukus "Talkhouse" Pharaoh, c. 1821–1879).
- Olivia Ward Bush-Banks (née Olivia Ward; February 27, 1869 – April 8, 1944), African American-Montaukett author, poet, and journalist.
Photograph: David Pharaoh, "Last King of the Montauk" (1838-1878)