Opening from On This Site - Native Long Island

Duck Decoys

Shinnecock decoy carving connects wetland knowledge, family livelihoods, and living artistry—from reed birds to Charles Sumner Bunn and Lyle G. Smith. A decoy holds more than the likeness of a bird. It connects the wetland, the maker’s trained eye, a family’s livelihood, and the people who remember that work. Naming Native makers and listening to their descendants keeps those histories present when useful objects become collected art.