Opening from On This Site - Native Long Island

Secatogue Neck

Secatogue is recorded as a neck of land in Islip and the locality associated with the Secatogue people. The name appears in Dutch and English records by the mid-seventeenth century, including records of meadow rights and references to the Black Grass Meadows. Secatogue is interpreted as "black or dark colored land," connected to dark meadowland. Why Place Names Matter “Indigenous place names reflect not only the uniqueness of a community’s cultural heritage but also serve as a tie to the rich history of the place.” — Jeannet Stephen, Jabil Mapjabil, Nor Arifah Mohd Nor, and Patricia Antoinette P., Indigenous Place Names’ Continued Existence as Markers of Indigenous Identity in Sabah (2021), Abstract, opening sentence