Princess ManyFlowers' Tribal Affiliation Card

This is a copy of the tribal affiliation card belonging to Princess ManyFlowers, my grandmother, the oldest living Matinnecock Indian.

Princess Brown Thrush's 1992 Obituary from The New York Times

Princess Brown Thrush, a Matinnecock Indian who fought for the rights of her tribe, died on Jan. 20 at Booth Memorial Medical Center in Queens. She was 80 years old and lived at the Matinnecock-Tackapoosha tribal longhouse in Flushing.

Princess Brown Thrush, whose Christian name was Lila E. Harding, died of cancer, said Chief Osceola Townsend, a cousin.

She was descended from Chief Tackapoosha, the Grand Sachem of the tribe, who died in the 1700's. Before the arrival of Europeans, the Matinnecocks had roamed the North Shore of Long Island. Currently they number about 250 families.

She was active in protests and territorial claims against the local, state and Federal governments in the 1950's and 1960's. The Matinnecocks still claim ownership of Flushing Meadows-Corona Park and Fort Totten in Queens, parts of North Hempstead and Caumsett State Park in Huntington.

Read the entire article at The New York Times.

The Village of Asharoken

Asharoken is an incorporated village and it is located within the Township of Huntington and is located in Suffolk County, New York State.

The Village of Asharoken lies in the northwestern portion of Suffolk County and approximately 60 miles east of New York City.

The Village is bounded by a section of Huntington, a section of Eatons Neck, the Long Island Sound, Northport Bay, and Duck Island Harbor. The Village is consists of approximately 2.20 square mile of land plus its surrounding beaches and waterways and has more than 9 miles of beautiful shorefront.

The Village takes its name from Chief Asharoken of the Sagamore of Ketewomoke and Matinnecock Indians, who occupied Eatons Neck in the 1600s.

Chief Asharoken then conveyed title to the Strip to three settlers in 1656.
asharokenpolice.org/village.aspx

Naming the Matinnecock

The English named the Indians who lived in this part of Long Island the Matinnecocks. Tooker said these Indians, after contact with Europeans, moved east and lived along the modern-day Nissequogue River in Smithtown.
www.newsday.com/community/guide/lihistory/ny-history-hs210b,0,5388218.story

The Early History of the Matinnecock

Prior to claims of title by the Dutch and English, Eaton’s Neck was occupied by the Matinnecock Indians. Their chief was Asharoken (also spelled Resoroken). The Matinecocks (one of thirteen tribes on Long Island) occupied and claimed ownership of the north shore of Long Island from Hempstead to Smithtown. In 1646, Theophilus Eaton, governor of New Haven purchased the peninsula from the Matinnecock Indians. There is no longer any documentation of the original deed for this purchase. Its existence and validity are attested to by its reference in other deeds. Furthermore, in 1663, a statement was signed by the Indians (by a cross, the mark X) in the presence of English witnesses affirming the sale to Theophilus Eaton. The Matinnecocks saw nothing irregular in selling the same land to multiple purchasers. For example on July 30, 1656, in another Indian deed, Chief Asharoken sold to Jonas Wood, William Rogers and Thomas Wilkes of Huntington the north side of Long Island from Cow Harbor (Northport) to the Neesaquock River (Smithtown). The language is not clear but seems to include Eaton’s Neck and Crab Meadow. Furthermore, in 1762 another deed from the three surviving heirs of Chief Asharoken, specifically includes Eaton’s Neck and Crab Meadow, again selling the land to the trustees of Huntington. As a result of the multiple sales, the Town of Huntington filed at least three law suits but was unsuccessful in obtaining ownership of the land.
From eatonsneck.org