The Montauk Indian Museum, located on the grounds of Second House, usually opens for the summer season on Memorial Day, but this year it has remained closed as the Montauk Historical Society eyes an evolution of the museum in the wake of new federal rules enacted in January concerning the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.
Although it was originally enacted in 1990, the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act was revitalized this year through executive action by the Biden administration. New rules were added authorizing a faster and easier process for the return of Native American human remains, funerary objects, and sacred objects to their tribes and organizations.
Additionally the responsibility of repatriation now falls on the museums and institutions themselves. “We think this is a good thing,” said Mia Certic, executive director of the Montauk Historical Society, which oversees the Montauk Indian Museum. “Indigenous nations should have much more to do with how artifacts, particularly artifacts of a sensitive nature, are being presented to the world.”
The historical society has been in contact with members of the Montaukett tribe since the new rules went into effect. “We asked them for a listing of the artifacts that they have and then we’ll sit down and talk to them,” said Sandi Brewster-walker, a representative of the Montauketts.
“I think that as a historical society we are very aware of the importance of working together with the people for whom Montauk was named,” Ms. Certic said.
The historical society sees this as an opportunity for the museum to grow and change. “The question we asked ourselves,” she said, “was ‘how could we reimagine this museum?’ “ The historical society is now taking steps to answer that question by thinking about the museum through a 2024 lens.
But it is doing so without Lawrence Cooke, the man who led the charge to establish the museum. Starting in 2001, Mr. Cooke, a retired New York City fireman, conceived of, raised the money, and gathered support for the idea, including, he said at the time, from Robert Pharaoh, chief of the Montauketts.
Another man claiming to be chief of the Montauketts, Robert Straight Arrow Cooper, objected to Mr. Cooke being the lead on the effort, and said in a 2012 East Hampton Star article: “A Native American museum is a Native American endeavor.”
The Montauk Indian Museum finally opened to the public in 2017.
“Opening and operating the museum for all these years, as a volunteer, has been truly a gift to me and perhaps the greatest achievement of my life,” Mr. Cooke said by email this week. Even though he does not plan to be involved in it going forward, he said, “I hope the process to reopen happens sooner rather than later.”
He agreed with Ms. Certic that Indigenous people are best equipped to answer the question of how museums should address Indigenous artifacts and objects “so that hugely significant histories and cultures are able to be presented without offense and in a manner that respects the cultures.”
When asked about how he thought the museum would be affected by the new rules, Mr. Cooke said both the letter and spirit of the law should be considered. “The museum has no human remains or funerary objects and has never received any federal funding, operating solely on private donations and grants and volunteer labor,” he wrote, noting that “out of an abundance of sensitivity to a new situation, the Montauk Historical Society decided the museum would not open this year.”
“We need to look at it internally,” Ms. Certic said, “and try to figure out . . . where we can go forward and then get involvement from some of the Indigenous nations.” Some possible changes include forming a new Indian Museum committee, as well as exploring a greater focus on programming within the museum itself.
The historical society is working now on inventorying the museum, a process Ms. Certic hopes will be completed by mid-September.
“It’s a good sign,” said Ms. Brewster-walker, “and when we find out what is real we’ll sit down and talk.”
The most groundbreaking aspect of the revisions to the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act was the fact that it now includes “historic tribes and organizations” such as the Montauketts, who are not formally recognized by the state. The long battle over Montaukett state recognition is ongoing. Over a 10-year span, bills recognizing the tribe have been vetoed five times by a New York State governor, but Ms. Brewster-walker and her fellow Montauketts continue their advocacy.
This year, the Assembly and Senate again unanimously passed another recognition bill, but it has yet to reach Gov. Kathy Hochul’s desk. Ms. Brewster-walker is more hopeful this time. Since the last veto in 2023, she has been working with officials throughout the state government. “I think the governor’s office has engaged more with it this time,” she said. “I feel more positive about it.”
The ideas of evolution and growth are key both in the matter of the museum, and as the state, and nation, continue to grapple with the historical treatment of Indigenous people.
“We want to go forward and work together with our Indigenous nations of Long Island,” Ms. Certic said, “and I’m hopeful because we have evolved as a historical society and we as a nation have evolved.”
