The name Cantiague (as in Cantiague Elementary School and Cantiague Rock Road) is derived from a Native American place-name. Early colonial records from May 1648 refer to “a point of trees called by the Indians Ciscascata or Cantiag” in this area (Beyond Manhattan: A Gazetteer of Delaware Indian History Reflected in Modern-Day Place Names). Linguists note that one defunct colonial spelling, Ciscascata, resembles a word in the Munsee dialect of Lenape meaning “it is muddy grass” (Beyond Manhattan: A Gazetteer of Delaware Indian History Reflected in Modern-Day Place Names). In other words, Cantiague likely originated as an Algonquian term describing muddy or wet grassy land. This corresponds to the local terrain (the Jericho area was once known for its springs and wetlands).
Cantiague also became associated with a specific landmark. In 1648, English settler Robert Williams “purchased” about 9 square miles of land (much of present-day Town of Oyster Bay, including Jericho) from a local Algonquian sachem named Pugnipan and other native leaders (Jericho-Pedia | Jericho Public Library). The deed for this transaction – known as Pugnipan’s Deed – was allegedly signed at a large glacial boulder in the area (Jericho-Pedia | Jericho Public Library). That boulder came to be called Cantiague Rock, after the native place-name. Cantiague Rock remained a notable boundary marker (it marked the line between the towns of Oyster Bay and North Hempstead as of 1745) (Beyond Manhattan: A Gazetteer of Delaware Indian History Reflected in Modern-Day Place Names). In the early 1960s, the rock was moved from its original spot and placed in Cantiague Park in nearby Hicksville (Beyond Manhattan: A Gazetteer of Delaware Indian History Reflected in Modern-Day Place Names), commemorating its historical significance. Today the name Cantiague endures in the park, road, and elementary school – a direct link to Long Island’s indigenous heritage.
Native American Presence on Long Island
Indigenous People and Algonquian Language
Long Island was originally inhabited by Native American peoples who all spoke languages of the Algonquian family (Long Island Books: Algonquian Peoples | The East Hampton Star). These original inhabitants had been present for thousands of years (archaeologists estimate ~10,000 years of continuous presence) before European contact (Long Island Books: Algonquian Peoples | The East Hampton Star). Importantly, they did not use a single collective name for themselves. Instead, they identified themselves by their local group or place. For example, they called themselves Montauketts, Shinnecocks, Massapequas, etc., referencing their home territory (Montauk, Shinnecock, Massapequa) (Long Island Books: Algonquian Peoples | The East Hampton Star). There was no centrally unified “Long Island tribe”; rather, Long Island was home to multiple autonomous bands who shared similar cultures and languages. All spoke Algonquian dialects mutually intelligible to some degree, which distinguished them from their Iroquoian-speaking neighbors (such as the Five Nations of the Iroquois upstate) (Long Island Books: Algonquian Peoples | The East Hampton Star).
Long Island Tribal Groups and Territories
During the 17th century there were roughly thirteen native bands on Long Island, loosely organized around kinship and geography (Shinnecock Indian Nation – Wikipedia). Each band occupied a certain territory and was led by its own sachem (chief). They lived in villages and hamlets, and while they allied or traded with each other, no single chief ruled the whole island. Some of the prominent indigenous groups included: the Montaukett in the eastern tip (Montauk Point); the Shinnecock in eastern Long Island (around what is now Southampton); the Manhasset or Montaukett offshoot on Shelter Island; the Unkechaug in the south-central coast (Poospatuck near present Mastic); the Massapequa in south-western Nassau; the Secatogue around the Islip area; the Matinecock in northwestern Long Island (present-day northern Nassau/Queens); the Rockaway and Canarsee in far western Long Island (modern Queens and Brooklyn); and others. These group names often simply described the locale or were the names of their principal village. For instance, Montaukett and Shinnecock are both names of place and people. The bands in western Long Island (such as the Matinecock, Rockaway, and Patchogue tribe of southwestern Suffolk) are often considered part of the broader Lenape (Delaware) nation (Shinnecock Indian Nation – Wikipedia). They spoke the Munsee dialect of the Lenape language, linking them to Lenape communities in what are now New Jersey, Manhattan, and the Hudson Valley (Shinnecock Indian Nation – Wikipedia). In contrast, the eastern Long Island tribes were more closely related to the Algonquian peoples of southern New England. The Shinnecock and Montaukett, for example, spoke dialects of the Mohegan-Pequot-Montauk language, similar to the Pequot and Narragansett tribes across Long Island Sound (Shinnecock Indian Nation – Wikipedia). In fact, eastern Long Island groups like the Shinnecock were at times politically subject to more powerful New England tribes (the Pequot and Narragansett) in pre-colonial times (Shinnecock Indian Nation – Wikipedia). This often took the form of tributary relationships, especially involving payments of wampum (shell bead currency) as described below. Despite such external pressures, Long Island’s native bands remained highly decentralized internally – their villages were self-governing, bound by family ties, and would unite only loosely against common threats (Shinnecock Indian Nation – Wikipedia).
Traditional Life and Cultural Significance
The Native American peoples of Long Island lived in a bountiful environment and developed a way of life well-suited to the island. They practiced a seasonal subsistence pattern: in warmer months they cultivated crops like corn, beans, and squash (the “Three Sisters”) in small gardens, and they fished in the bays and ocean for shellfish and finfish. In colder months, some groups moved inland to hunt game and take shelter in forest camps. Villages consisted of dome-shaped wigwams or small longhouses made of sapling frames covered in bark or mats. Socially, each village or band was led by a sachem and council of elders. Rather than large confederacies or kingdoms, their society was a network of kinship – a “community of communities.” John Strong, an ethnohistorian of Long Island, notes that pre-contact Long Island appeared to be “a vibrant society of peace and plenty”, with no evidence of the kind of warfare that was common among the Iroquois tribes upstate (Long Island Books: Algonquian Peoples | The East Hampton Star). In other words, the island’s indigenous people generally lived harmoniously, with any conflicts being small-scale; they did not develop a warrior culture on the scale of their Iroquoian neighbors. (That said, external conflicts did occur: for example, the Montaukett were harassed by the Narragansett from Rhode Island, and in the 1650s a Montaukett sachem’s daughter was famously kidnapped by warriors from across the Sound – an incident resolved with the help of English allies.) Overall, before European disruption, the various Long Island bands often shared use of the land and resources. They had an understanding that different groups could hunt or fish in each other’s territories by agreement (Massapequa Historical Society – Historian’s Message – In Reference to the Meadowlands Deed – Historical Society of the Massapequas), which suggests a cooperative ethos among the island’s thirteen bands.
One particularly important aspect of Long Island native culture was the production of wampum. Wampum (known as wampumpeag in Algonquian) consisted of polished shell beads made primarily from the quahog clam (for purple beads) and whelk shells (for white beads). The coastal waters of Long Island provided an abundance of these shells, and local tribes became expert craftsmen of wampum. They drilled and strung the shell beads, which were highly valued in trade networks throughout the Northeast. Wampum had multiple uses: it was used as a medium of exchange (currency) between tribes and with Europeans, as records of treaties or historical events (often woven into belts), and for ceremonial and gift-giving purposes. Long Island wampum was considered among the highest quality. In fact, other tribes coveted it – mainland Algonquian tribes and even the Iroquois engaged in trade or raids to acquire Long Island wampum (Shinnecock Indian Nation – Wikipedia). This importance is reflected in indigenous names for Long Island. The island was known to some Algonquians as Sewanhacky (or Sewanhaky) meaning “Island of Shells” (Massapequa Historical Society – Historian’s Message – In Reference to the Meadowlands Deed – Historical Society of the Massapequas) – a testament to its rich shellfish and wampum resources. Another native name for Long Island was Paumanok, which translates to “Land of Tribute” (Shinnecock Indian Nation – Wikipedia). This term comes from the fact that peoples of Long Island often had to pay tribute (usually in wampum) to more powerful tribes on the mainland (like the Pequots) (Shinnecock Indian Nation – Wikipedia). These names show the cultural and economic significance of Long Island in the broader Native American world: it was famed for its shell wealth.
European Contact and Legacy
European explorers and settlers began to arrive on Long Island in the early 1600s. The first permanent colonial presence was by the English in the 1640s on the East End (Southampton in 1640, Southold in 1640, East Hampton in 1648) (A Brief History of Amagansett | The Roundtree Stories) (A Brief History of Amagansett | The Roundtree Stories), soon followed by Dutch and English settlements in western Long Island. The contact period (17th century) was a time of upheaval for the island’s Native Americans. Initially, relations were mixed: there were instances of cooperation and trade (for example, the Montaukett sachem Wyandanch allied with English settler Lion Gardiner, securing protection for his people (Long Island Books: Algonquian Peoples | The East Hampton Star)), but there were also conflicts and exploitation. European colonists sought to acquire land, and they did so through a series of land purchases (deeds) – like the 1648 Pugnipan’s Deed in Jericho – and sometimes through coercion or fraud. Often these “purchases” were misunderstandings: Native leaders thought they were granting usage rights or forming alliances, not permanently giving up the land. Over time, as more settlers arrived, Native communities were increasingly displaced from their home territories.
Diseases brought by Europeans also devastated the indigenous population, who had no immunity to illnesses like smallpox. The combination of disease, loss of land, and occasional violence caused the Native American population on Long Island to collapse precipitously in the mid-1600s. One account from 1670 observed that in many areas where the English had settled, scarcely any of the original Native people remained – “thirty-five years after the first European settlers arrived, [only] a few Native Americans were left on the Island” (Massapequa Historical Society – Historian’s Message – In Reference to the Meadowlands Deed – Historical Society of the Massapequas). By 1700, the majority of Long Island’s indigenous people had been either killed, died of illness, driven off the island, or assimilated into colonial society or other native communities.
Yet, Native American presence did not vanish entirely. Some groups managed to persist by adapting. The Shinnecock, for example, stayed in their ancestral area around Southampton. In the 1700s, surviving Shinnecock people gathered on a portion of their land and eventually gained formal recognition of a reservation (the Shinnecock Reservation) – land that their descendants still occupy today (Shinnecock Indian Nation – Wikipedia). The Shinnecock Indian Nation continued as a distinct community through the centuries and is today a federally recognized tribe based on the South Fork of Long Island (Shinnecock Indian Nation – Wikipedia). Likewise, the Unkechaug people maintained a community at Poospatuck (Mastic area), which is still inhabited by Unkechaug descendants and recognized by New York State. The Montaukett, sadly, lost most of their land in the late 1700s and early 1800s; many moved away or intermarried, though Montaukett descendants continue to fight for official recognition. Other Long Island Native Americans blended into the growing colonial society or moved to join related Algonquian tribes elsewhere (for instance, some Long Island families joined communities in Connecticut or among the Lenape in New Jersey).
Place names are among the most visible legacies of Long Island’s first inhabitants. Dozens of towns, waterways, and geographic features still bear names derived from the Algonquian languages spoken by those tribes. These names serve as living reminders of the island’s Native American heritage, even long after the original communities have diminished. Below are a few notable examples of Native-influenced place names on Long Island:
Influence on Long Island Place Names
- Cantiague – From a local Algonquian name recorded as Ciscascata or Cantiag in 1648. Likely means “muddy grass” (from Munsee asiiskuwaskat) (Beyond Manhattan: A Gazetteer of Delaware Indian History Reflected in Modern-Day Place Names). Today used for Cantiague Park, Cantiague Rock, and Cantiague Rock Road in Jericho/Hicksville.
- Massapequa – Derived from the Algonquian name Marsapeague, meaning “great water land,” referring to the wetlands and lakes of that area (Massapequa Historical Society – Historian’s Message – In Reference to the Meadowlands Deed – Historical Society of the Massapequas). (The Massapequa were the Native people of that south-shore region.)
- Shinnecock – Name of the Shinnecock people, roughly translating to “people of the stony shore” (Shinnecock Indian Nation – Wikipedia). This refers to their homeland along the pebbly shoreline of eastern Long Island. (Shinnecock Bay and Hills are named after them.)
- Amagansett – Montaukett Algonquian word meaning “place of good water,” indicating a location with a fresh water source (A Brief History of Amagansett | The Roundtree Stories). (Amagansett is a hamlet in East Hampton Town; a local beach plaque notes the meaning.)
Many other Long Island place names originate from Native terms: Montauk (from Montaukett, likely referring to the Montauk people or “the end land”), Quogue (possibly from a word for wild geese), Setauket (from Setalcott, the tribe of that area), Nissequogue, Patchogue, Manhasset, Mineola, Wantagh (from Wantagh or Wantaghucks, a sachem’s name), and even the name of Long Island itself (Paumanok or Sewanhacky, as noted earlier). Each of these names carries a piece of linguistic and historical information about the early inhabitants. Through these place names – as well as ongoing Native communities like the Shinnecock – the legacy of Long Island’s indigenous peoples remains woven into the fabric of the region’s identity.
In summary, the word Cantiague exemplifies the deep Native American roots of Long Island. It originates from the language of the island’s first peoples and survived through centuries as a place name. Exploring its origin opens a window into the broader history of Native American presence on Long Island – a history of Algonquian-speaking tribes who hunted, farmed, and fished on this island for millennia, who experienced upheaval with the coming of Europeans, and who left an enduring imprint on Long Island’s geography and culture (Massapequa Historical Society – Historian’s Message – In Reference to the Meadowlands Deed – Historical Society of the Massapequas) (Shinnecock Indian Nation – Wikipedia). The story of Cantiague and the island’s other Native place names ensures that the memory of those indigenous communities is not forgotten, honoring their cultural and linguistic heritage in the modern landscape.
