Journey to Wikun

   The public has been invited to the preview week of “Journey Back to the Wikun Village” at the Wikun (Shinnecock for “good”) Village, the Shinnecock Museum’s new outdoor living culture attraction, today through Monday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free.

    The outdoor village shows the story of life in a 17th and 18th-century Shinnecock community. Steps away from the museum in a two-acre area of pine and oak trees, the village is a piece of living history where guests become active participants in an authentic indigenous experience. Visitors can speak with knowledgeable native staff as they carry out daily village activities. Visitors will experience villagers relaxing by an open fire inside a neesscuttow weetu (two-fire longhouse) with soft fur-covered benches, handmade bags, and bowls, and women tending a traditional garden nearby. Unlike conventional living-history sites, the Wikun Village staff does not “role-play” the period. They are native people of today talking about the culture and history of the Shinnecocks.

    The preview includes a guided tour of the village, singing and social dancing, children’s programs, traditional skills demonstrations, and commemorative gift giveaways.

    The Wikun Village site is just east of the museum at 100 Montauk Highway in Southampton. For more information, the Web site is ShinnecockMuseum. com. The Wikun Village opens officially on May 25.