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Articles by Dyani Brown
Scholarship Legacy Powers Next Generation Shinnecock Leaders
Eighteen Shinnecock students are expected to graduate from Southampton High School this June — marking one of the largest Shinnecock graduating classes in recent memory. “Back in the day, only one or two Shinnecock students would graduate each year,” said Carolyn Brown Gumbs, founder of the Paulette H. Brown Memorial Scholarship, named in honor of her late daughter. For nearly four decades, Gumbs has awarded the Paulette H.
The Struggle & Strength of Being a Good Relative
Whenever someone asks what it’s like to grow up on Shinnecock, I tend to give a simple, almost reflexive answer, much like the way strangers respond to “How are you?” — with something generic like, “It was fun. I learned to drive by the age of 10, and we had a sense of freedom, unburdened by outside bureaucracy.” But the deeper truth is much more complex. Growing up with nearly every family member — immediate and extended — within a 1.2-square-mile radius is both a blessing and a burden.
Women Are Designed for Leadership
As a former public servant who romanticizes our previous trustee system for its inclusion of a 13-member Tribal Council — our own governance structure that developed organically and was made up of mostly women — I must note that Lisa Goree being named Shinnecock’s new chairwoman is perhaps as significant as being the first female elected to the former three-man trustee board.
Shinnecock Oyster Festival Revives Old Business Venture
Shinnecock Nation Environmental Department will host its inaugural Oyster Festival this Saturday October 7 on the Shinnecock Nation Powwow Grounds from 1 to 6 p.m. The event will feature local craft vendors, live music performances by DK Dyson and Liza Coppola, and family friendly activities including archery and a bouncy house. However, the headliner of the day will be Shinnecock Bay oysters served raw on a half shell, grilled, po’ boy style and in a stew.
Shinnecock Parents Rally After Racial Slur on School Desk
Gentrification. Although the term is most commonly associated with race, the fact that gentrification disproportionately weeds out people of color is simply Darwin’s Law. At its root, however, gentrification is a systemic byproduct of wealth. Wherever the haves out-wealth the have-nots, gentrification thrives. Even in a community of historically significant wealth like Southampton, which is known as the Eden to old-money pioneers such as the Rockefellers and Vanderbilts.
SAJE: A Restorative Approach to an Imbalanced Justice System
“In the thousands of years of Indigenous culture studied by anthropologists, they have yet to uncover a jail.” –Hopi Elder Stephanie Autumn. Imprisonment was never our way. We tribal communities governed ourselves with values passed down through morals and honor. Once upon a time, that was enough. With the plunge of the first steel pitchfork into our amber waves of grain, the fabric of our traditional community structure was torn.
A History of Entrepreneurs, Professionals
The idea that the Hamptons is populated solely by the affluent and wealthy is a myth. From Memorial Day through Labor Day, each day more than 50,000 pass Shinnecock Territory, most without ever knowing we Shinnecock exist. Such is to be expected, considering Indigenous people are perhaps the most marginalized and easily dismissed population in America.
Shinnecock Voices: We Are Always Connected
A couple years ago, a Hopi woman came to Shinnecock to help a group of us relearn how to conduct talking circles — this is when we pass around a designated object as permission to share our perspective on a topic while the rest of us listen respectfully. As per her culture, the lesson began with a traditional meditation. She asked that we close our eyes and imagine the soles of our feet growing roots that penetrate deep into the earth.
FIRST LADY, "WE NEED YOU."
“I believe in you,” First Lady Michelle Obama said to Native youth at the first-ever White House Tribal Youth Gathering. More than one thousand youth members, representing for 230 tribes from 42 states gathered in Washington D.C. “Your customs, your values, your discoveries are at the heart of the American story,” she said, acknowledging the mistreatment of Native Americans, “America hasn’t always treated your people and heritage with dignity and respect.
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