Disrupting the Narrative: Labor and Survivance for the Montauketts of Eastern Long Island Allison Manfra Mcgovern Graduate Center, City University of New York
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City University of New York (CUNY) CUNY Academic Works Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects Graduate Center 9-2015 Disrupting the Narrative: Labor and Survivance for the Montauketts of Eastern Long Island Allison Manfra McGovern Graduate Center, City University of New York How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! Follow this and additional works at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds Recommended Citation McGovern, Allison Manfra, "Disrupting the Narrative: Labor and Survivance for the Montauketts of Eastern Long Island" (2015). CUNY Academic Works. https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/1045 This Dissertation is brought to you by CUNY Academic Works. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects by an authorized administrator of CUNY Academic Works. For more information, please contact [email protected]. DISRUPTING THE NARRATIVE: LABOR AND SURVIVANCE FOR THE MONTAUKETTS OF EASTERN LONG ISLAND by ALLISON MANFRA MCGOVERN A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty in Anthropology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, The City University of New York 2015 © 2015 ALLISON MANFRA MCGOVERN All Rights Reserved ii This manuscript has been read and accepted by the Graduate Faculty in Anthropology to satisfy the dissertation requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. ___________ ___________________________________ Date Dr. Diana diZerega Wall Chair of Examining Committee ____________ ______________________________________ Date Dr. Gerald Creed Executive Officer ______________________________________________ Dr. James Moore ______________________________________________ Dr. Timothy Pugh ______________________________________________ Dr. William Parry ______________________________________________ Dr. Christopher N. Matthews Supervisory Committee THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK iii Abstract DISRUPTING THE NARRATIVE: LABOR AND SURVIVANCE FOR THE MONTAUKETT OF EASTERN LONG ISLAND by Allison Manfra McGovern Advisor: Dr. Diana diZerega Wall This dissertation focuses on how the Native Montauketts of eastern Long Island, New York, negotiated the forces of colonialism and capitalism between 1750 and 1885, a well- documented period when the Montaukett people’s identity was challenged by the growing strength of the “vanishing Indian” narrative. This project includes a critical analysis of previous anthropological research for decolonization to recognize the role anthropology has played in the construction of Native cultural identity, and to propose a new narrative. This is accomplished by investigating the historicity of colonialism, deconstructing the categories of difference that were established and re-established to accommodate colonial policies, and highlighting the power dynamics of capitalism. This dissertation therefore disrupts and replaces the narrative of the “vanishing Indian” with a new narrative of survivance that illuminates the historical processes that impacted the construction and maintenance of Montaukett cultural identities. Historical sources are critically reviewed, and archaeological collections re-investigated for clues to indigenous Montaukett lifeways during rapidly changing social, economic, and political conditions. In particular, the archaeological collections from two homes at Indian Fields, a Montaukett habitation site, provide an intra-site, diachronic comparison against a complex economic, social, and cultural backdrop between 1750 and 1885. Montaukett survivance at iv Indian Fields was informed by indigenous strategies for subsistence, exchange, and social reproduction that were well-established in the pre-Columbian era. While the earlier household at Indian Fields demonstrates greater continuity in indigenous foodways, craft production, and discard patterns, the later household shows evidence of a greater struggle to demonstrate Native identity during a time of unavoidable economic and social change. The data from the Indian Fields site are also compared with documentary sources from Freetown, a multicultural neighborhood in nineteenth-century East Hampton. This regional analysis emphasizes the local and extra-local opportunities for work, the multiple possibilities for access to goods (local and non-local), networks of kin and social organization, and the social conditions of economic production, consumption and exchange. I argue that the social and economic networks established by Montauketts were central to their ability to survive the consequences of settler colonialism (which include dispossession, migrations, racialization, tribalization, and detribalization). At the local level, this project produces a more accurate understanding of Native history, and the present-day Native conditions that may exist as consequences of the colonial experience. In addition, this research adds to the dialogue of colonial processes and experiences in a global context. v Acknowledgements This dissertation would not have come to completion without the assistance and encouragement of so many people. First I would like to thank Laurie Billadello of the Suffolk County Historic Trust, Suffolk County Archaeological Association, and formerly of the Long Island Archaeological Project, and Richard Martin, Director of Historic Services of Suffolk County Parks. Laurie shared her field notes and memories of digging at Indian Fields, and provided guidance on finding additional resources. Richard provided access to the Indian Fields collection, provided office space at Suffolk County Parks, and offered his encouragement for completion of this project. Without their help, this dissertation would not have been possible. I am also sincerely grateful to my doctoral committee for their guidance and feedback with this project. I especially want to thank Diana Wall and Jim Moore, who encouraged me to develop this project and to finish it. Tim Pugh and Bill Parry provided thoughtful comments and suggestions from proposal to defense. I am also thankful to Chris Matthews, my outside reader, for his encouragement, his comments, and for helping me to become a better writer. Nan Rothschild, Tom McGovern, and Jacqueline Nassy Brown allowed me to explore my topic through coursework, and I am especially grateful for their feedback. Thank you to Ellen DeRiso and Gerald Creed for assistance with administrative hurdles, especially at the end. This research was supported by a Summer Research Grant from the GC Anthropology Department, a Paul Cuffee Memorial Fellowship from Mystic Seaport, an ARC Knickerbocker Archival Fellowship for American Studies from the CUNY Graduate Center, participation in “Traces of Early America”: an Interdisciplinary Graduate Student Conference at the McNeil Center for Early American Studies, and a Dissertation Year Fellowship for writing from the CUNY Graduate Center. vi I would also like to thank everyone who provided access to collections and shared their knowledge during the research and writing process, including Bob Hefner, Amy Folk, Sharon Pullen, Richard Barons, Richard Doctorow, Hugh King, Gaynell Stone, John Strong, Jason Mancini, Al Camissa, Kathy Tucker, David Bunn Martine, Elizabeth Haile, Robin Strong, and the staff of Montauk County Park. I am deeply grateful to Chief Robert Pharaoh and James Devine for their willingness to speak and share with me. I also owe a huge debt of gratitude to Gina Piastuck and Steve Russell Boerner of the East Hampton Library, Long Island Collection. Gina and Steve were friendly and overwhelmingly accommodating during my sometimes endless visits. Steve, especially, shared his enthusiasm for my research and was incredibly generous with his time during my visits. Thanks also to my friends and colleagues who helped me work through this project, including Jenna Wallace Coplin, Meg Gorsline, Mark Tweedie, David Bernstein, Daria Merwin, Anjana Mebane-Cruz, and especially Georgette Grier-Key, my friend and colleague at the Eastville Community Historical Society. Finally, thanks to my family (the Manfras, Olivers, and McGoverns) who supported me with babysitting, kind wishes, and general interest through this sometimes seemingly endless process. I am especially grateful to Karl, Sophie, and Karl Angelo, whom I love very much, for your patience and for believing in me. vii Table of Contents Copyright ........................................................................................................................................ ii Approval page ................................................................................................................................ iii Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... iv Acknowledgments.......................................................................................................................... vi List of Figures ................................................................................................................................ xi Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................................................1 1.1. Project Significance ......................................................................................................3 1.2. The Indian Fields Site ...................................................................................................6 1.3. Research Goals............................................................................................................11