Disrupting the Narrative: Labor and Survivance for the Montauketts of Eastern Long Island
type: CreativeWork
description: 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 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 sourc…
abstract: 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 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 sourc…
author: McGovern, Allison Manfra
keywords: colonialism; historical archaeology; Native Americans; race
date published: 2015-09-30T07:00:00Z
date modified: 2026-07-24T01:58:49Z
provider: City University of New York - Graduate Center
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York