Opening from On This Site - Native Long Island

Sachem's House

Sachem's House connects a 1650 Southampton record with Shinnecock leadership and the way colonial documents sometimes preserved Native political places. Sachem's House is a descriptive English place-name recorded in 1650 for the residence of the Shinnecock sachem. The name points to Shinnecock leadership and colonial recordkeeping rather than to a surviving house location. Sachem's House points to Shinnecock political geography in the period when Southampton settlers dealt with Shinnecock leaders about land, boundaries, and disputes. The exact location of the residence is not identified here. Sachem's House is an English descriptive name rather than an Algonquian translation. It identifies a residence associated with Shinnecock leadership. Why Place Names Matter “Oral history is preserved in various indigenous place names.” — Nobuhle Ndimande-Hlongwa, The role of...