Description
Montauk once resided in great numbers on the eastern end of Long Island, NY. Many Montauk descendants today live in Wisconsin with the Brotherton Mohegans. But there are still communities of Montauk people living in New York as well. The Montauk Tribe of Indians was disenfranchised from its ancestral lands and forced to abandon the economic and governmental systems which had sustained them for hundreds of years. Today The Montauk Tribe of Indians is working diligently towards achieving the reversal of the infamous 1910 Blackmar decision, as well as the revitalization of its language and culture.
Language
The Montauketts are an Algonquian-speaking Native American people from the eastern and central sections of Long Island, New York.
Culture
Montauk men were hunters and sometimes went to war to protect their families. Montauk women were farmers and also did most of the child care and cooking. Both genders took part in storytelling, artwork and music, and traditional medicine. In the past, Montauk chiefs were always men, but today a Montauk Indian woman could be chief too. Montauk women wore knee-length skirts and the men wore a leather loincloth and leggings. Shirts were not necessary in the Montauk culture, but Montauk people did wear deerskin mantles in cool weather. Montauk men and women both wore earrings and moccassins on their feet.