Wahteonk Initiative

Research is a key component in any venture of understanding. The history of the Indigenous communities of Long Island has been systematically buried in the academic arena and replaced with a narrative that best suites the historic need for the erasure of Indigenous people. Our story was almost never recorded through our own eyes until very recent history, when it became legal for us to do so.

As a means to strengthen our own Indigenous community's understanding of who we are as a people, and to better protect our future from events that have occurred in the past, gathering knowledge is essential.

For many years the Founders of M.I.C. have worked in many capacities to compile and share the research they have found on Indigenous Long Island. Through this effort is is their goal to produce continued curriculums through a separate initiative of M.I.C.

The process of research compilation is particularly complicated when it comes to this subject matter because frankly, it has never been done through the lens of the indigenous community, and only rarely by historical scholars such as John Strong. 

This research requires the eye to find even the smallest detail in the historical documents, tracking down the original source as well as the discernment found in the viewpoint of Indigenous understanding of culture and oral histories. Through this vetting system, which is easier said than done, a fuller story and understanding of history can be compiled as close to what our communities believe is our truth.

This initiative is an effort to provide full time personnel to compile known documents and resources as well as search for more documents and other resources to strengthen our understanding of our history. The majority of which is not known by the public. This includes networking with various museums, organizations, other Indigenous communities, and private collections, looking through digital resources, traveling to sources that have not been digitized or are to sensitive to move, and taking the time to connect them all.