Community Corner
Shinnecock Museum Unveils Living History Village
Wikun Village presents Shinnecock Life during late 17th and early 18th centuries.
After years of planning, the Shinnecock Nation Cultural Center & Museum cut the ribbon Thursday on Wikun Village, a living history exhibit designed to convey what life was like for Native Americans in the late 17th and early 18th century on Long Island.
The Wikun Village, named for the Shinnecock word for “good,” is also aimed at increasing heritage tourism on the South Fork, providing an economic boon to the Shinnecock Reservation and the surrounding Southampton community.
“We know that living history sites like others around the country are tools for strengthening communities in many ways,” Assistant Director Andrea Godoy said during the ribbon cutting ceremony Thursday, which included a welcoming “honor song” by Wikun Village site manager Matauqus Tarrant.
“This project has been on the drawing board for many years,” Museum Director and Curator David Martine said. “Since we opened our doors in 2001, we’ve always had the goal to expand and also to be able to create a living history village so people could have more of a total immersion of cultural traditions as they existed in the 17th, 18th centuries. This is really a dream come true for us because we’ve been planning this for a long time.”
“It’s really unconventional as a living history site because the people are not roleplaying …” Martine said. “We’re just native people today sharing our culture as part of our own tradition”
Southampton Town Supervisor Anna Throne-Holst, who joined in the ribbon cutting with other local officials, said, “It’s one thing to learn about it, to hear about it, to read about it. It’s another thing to be able to see it and to some degree live it. And it’s just a very important gift to all of us, so on behalf of the town I’d like to thank you for that.”
The exhibit was made possible by a two-year grant from the Administration for Native Americans that totals more than $700,000. Godoy said the funds helped build Wikun Village and provided a year of training for Shinnecocks to relearn ancient skills that will be demonstrated in the exhibit.
“We’ve got $700,000 in our pocket but it takes a whole lot more to raise a village and keep it going,” Godoy said. She announced that the museum is undertaking a major fundraising campaign. The museum has set a goal to raise an additional $1.5 million by August 2015. The plan is to set aside $300,000 for startup funds for Wikun Village and divide the rest for an audio tour and endowment for the museum and to provide additional security.
Programming planned at the village includes traditional singing, social dancing, canoe tours, children’s programs, and adult arts workshops as well as guided tours. The village includes a longhouse, a garden that practices the “three sisters” method, a root cellar and more.
“I’ve been here for 85 years and this is one of the best things that has happened to this tribe,” Shinnecock Council of Elders member Shirley Smith said.
A preview week will begin May 15 and the grand opening is planned May 25. Wikun Village will be open during museum hours, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday to Sunday.
