Description of Matinnecock Indians from Navajo Crafts

The Matinnecock Indians, an Algonquian people, are the aboriginal occupants of northwestern Long Island. Among the first to feel the impact of European settlement, and seldom mentioned after the colonial period, the Matinnecocks experienced profound changes after the seventeenth century. But they did not vanish; they are still an identifiable people.

In 1975 the tribe began the revitalization of its ancestral religion. To date, four ceremonies have been revived. Nunnowa ("Indian Thanksgiving") is held in October, and a midwinter ceremony takes place in February; naming and pipe ceremonies are held when appropriate.

Like the Algonquian remnants of southern New England, the Matinnecocks are now involved in a regional form of Pan-Indianism. ….a core group cling steadfastly to their Native American identity.

From Navajo Crafts.