Opening from On This Site - Native Long Island

Native Communities and the 'Thirteen Tribes' Model

Long Island's Native history cannot be reduced to thirteen fixed territories. Community names, place names, kinship, movement, diplomacy, and continuing nationhood reveal a more connected and changing political landscape. The familiar map of thirteen fixed tribes can make colonial categories look older and more certain than they are. Reading names and boundaries critically makes room for Native kinship, mobility, political choice, and the continuing authority of present-day communities. Long Island's Native history cannot be reduced to thirteen fixed territories. Community names, place names, kinship, movement, diplomacy, and continuing nationhood reveal a more...