Fast Foward: Montauketts Seek Recognition

Steve Wick | Staff Writer

In 1995, the descendants of the Montaukett Indians living on the South Fork did something they had never done before: They asked the federal government to formally recognize them. The paperwork -- called a notice of intent to seek recognition -- was filed by Robert Pharaoh of Sag Harbor, a descendant of a long line of Montauketts going back to colonial times.

``We are in the process of assembling a tribal roll, along with geneological charts to show how we connect to the Montaukett people of the past,'' said Robert Cooper, a Montaukett who lives in East Hampton. Cooper can trace his ancestry back to the 17th Century, when English colonists arrived on the South Fork.

There are two tribes on Long Island that maintain reservations that date to the 18th Century and which have been recognized by New York State since Colonial times -- the Shinnecocks in Southampton and the Poosepatucks in Mastic. No Indian group on Long Island has received federal recognition, nor has any sought it in the past. The Montauketts have not sought state recognition. Federal recognition is a rigorous process that requires a tribe having to prove its members today are bonafide descendants of the original tribe. To accomplish this, the modern-day group must show that the tribe, among other things, held meetings, kept tribal membership rolls and has tried to keep itself together as a group.

``We want to save our history and, if we can, construct a museum to our people on Montauk Point -- our old land,'' Cooper said.