Shinnecock Museum Is Rising

Twenty-one years after the Shinnecock Indians decided to build a museum and cultural center in Southampton, its dream may soon be realized.

But there is one catch: The Native American tribe, whose roots on the East End reach as far back as Shinnecock relics dated at 1043 B.C., needs to raise another $300,000 to complete the project.

Last year, the museum got its first big boost, in the form of a $200,000 donation from the Mashantucket Pequots, the group that operates the Foxwoods Resort Casino on its reservation in Ledyard, Conn.

With that in their bank account, the Shinnecocks were finally able to call in a favor they had been promised seven years before by Beaver Creek Log Homes, a business owned and run by members of the Oneida Nation in upstate New York. Beaver Creek had offered to construct the building for the cost of the materials alone.

Hands-On Exhibits

Now half constructed, on the south side of Montauk Highway on the northern boundary of the reservation, just east of the Southampton College campus, the center will include a permanent museum as well as classrooms where children can learn about Shinnecock culture.

"It's a living museum," Betty Cromwell, vice president of the cultural center board, said on Friday. "There will be hands-on exhibits for children." In 1994, the cultural center was granted an educational charter by the State Board of Regents.

"There will be a reproduction of a native village showing the way the tribe used to live," she said. "There will be gardens with plants and herbs used by our people, and stuffed animals seen in their native habitats," a reminder of the wildlife that once roamed Long Island and that provided sustenance for the tribe.

Mural A Centerpiece

Stone implements, ancient relics, clothing, a birchbark canoe, wigwams, wickiups (conical huts with rough frames covered by reeds, grass, or brushwood), old photographs, and many other artifacts, some donated by members of the tribe, others acquired or borrowed from museums with Shinnecocks' holdings, will be permanently displayed.

"When I was a child," Ms. Cromwell said, "we used something called a scrub to scour dishes and pots. We knew nothing about Brillo." The scrub was made by tribal elders from white oak saplings. Recently, David Bunn Martine and other Shinnecocks took a workshop to learn how to make scrubs and other utensils used by the tribe in earlier days.

Mr. Martine, a painter, is responsible for an 8-foot-high, 20-foot-long mural, depicting the history of the Shinnecocks, which will provide a centerpiece for the museum.

The building is made from white pine logs hand peeled, shaped, sanded, notched, and assembled by Oneida workers with the Beaver Creek company. Even without a roof - more funds must be raised before that can be constructed - it is a simple and elegant structure that evidences superior craftsmanship.

Robbin Obomsawin, who is married to Jules Obomsawin, an Oneida who is the owner of Beaver Creek, is the general contractor for the project.

All Handmade

"The cost for this job would normally be in the range of $1.2 million," Ms. Obomsawin said. "Because of the different Indians who have pitched in, and thanks to donations in time and labor from a number of businesses, we should be able to bring this in at around $600,000, which is extremely low. But you still have to pay for materials."

The price of the log contract, drawn up seven years ago, was honored by Beaver Creek even though costs have gone up since 1991. All of the labor was donated by the company. The crew lived for seven months in a house on the reservation loaned to them by a member of the board of directors.

"Our buildings are all hand-crafted, made the traditional way, as they were 500 years ago," Mr. Obomsawin, whose Indian name is Seven Shirts, said. "I used to come here with my family for pow-wows when I was very small. We're very glad to be doing this for the Shinnecocks."

Others who have donated time and labor to the project include Campion Platt, an architect who designed the layout of the building in collaboration with board members, and Cliff Gibbons, a stone mason who, with his crew, is building retaining walls and a patio for the center.

Ms. Obomsawin noted that Mr. Gibbons's donation of time and materials is worth well over $30,000.

And, numerous members of the Shinnecock Tribe are volunteering their services.

Elizabeth Haile, the board secretary, said funds were still needed to complete the roof, and put in windows, a septic system, plumbing, heat and light.

"We went out on a limb so that people could see that we are serious," she said, "and we hope that the community will see that the center has benefited from it already, with our nature walks and tours for schoolchildren." The Shinnecocks over the past two years have sent a traveling educational troupe of storytellers and dancers to local schools.

Although there is some hope that the board may be able to raise more money by approaching the Mohegans, who, like the Mashantucket Pequots, own a casino in Connecticut, Ms. Haile said that the board now is relying on support from the East End community.

Native American Management

"We are a small group," she said. "We know that our neighbors in Southampton love what we are doing, but we also hope that they will be able to help us. We're hoping for outright donations and we'd also like advice and aid in fund-raising opportunities on the East End."

"I'm sorry to go on about money," she laughed, "but we're so busy trying to raise funds that I feel that I'm not telling you all that we hope to accomplish with the cultural center."

"We traveled to see many other museums of this type," Ms. Cromwell said. "Our museum will be the only one on Long Island operated and managed by Native American people. We're very proud of this project, and we hope the world will be proud with us."

And the world can find out more about the Shinnecocks, including updates on the museum, by logging onto their new Internet home page. The address is www.red-owl.com .