Opening from On This Site - Native Long Island

Cutsgunsuck

Cutsgunsuck is Tooker's Indigenous placename for the brook or creek known in English as Stony Brook. The waterway marked part of the boundary between Brookhaven and Smithtown at the village of Stony Brook. Recorded forms include Cutsgunsuck, Cussquontuck, and Cutscwontock. The name is interpreted as stony brook or the stony creek, from a word for stone joined to a word for brook, outlet, creek, or tidal stream. Why Place Names Matter “Indigenous place names carry the stories of the land and its people, reflecting the unbroken relationships between them.” — The Decolonial Atlas, Turtle Island Decolonized (n.d.), Opening text, first sentence Cutsgunsuck is Tooker's Indigenous placename for the brook or creek known in English as Stony Brook. The waterway marked part of the boundary between Brookhaven and Smithtown at...