About the Exhibition

Long Island is Indigenous land and always has been; despite nearly 400 years of attempts to erase and subdue the connections between its people and the land, Indigenous peoples continue to honor, practice and assert kinship to place and each other. Indigenous History and Art at Good Little Water Place is an exhibition highlighting the nuances and significances of enduring relationships between peoples, land, wildlife, and water. Artwork from nine contemporary Indigenous artists centers the exhibit, offering an inquisitive look at the history and on-going relations between Indigenous people and land, and reminding viewers of the responsibility we all share to know our common histories with each other and the impact on our connections to place. How do we make sense of a disordered past that seeps into the everyday dismissal of Indigenous presence on Indigenous lands? How do Indigenous artists conceptualize a canon of art specific to Long Island, spanning over 10,000 years of expression through clay, shell, and paint?