Two years ago, I went to my first Shinnecock Nation Powwow. I don’t know how it happened, but growing up as a full-time resident of the East End, I never once went. But three years ago, a friend of my husband’s extended an invitation. It’s an understatement to call her a very interesting woman — the Hon. Lizbeth Gonzalez is the associate judge for the Appellate Division of the New York State Supreme Court, but she’s also a passionate advocate for the Shinnecock Nation and, via Stony Brook University, a coordinator of the Algonquian Language Revitalization Project. It was Lizbeth who brought me there. She introduced me to different members of the Nation, to fry bread and the Three Sisters (corn, beans and squash), and to the beautiful ceremonial garments worn during mesmerizing dances, so graceful and skilled.
Emily Toy has a similar story to me — growing up out here but somehow missing out on the powwow until very recently, both of us thinking, oh, it’s not for us, right? We’re not Native American. But as we learned in the wonderful story she wrote, that’s exactly the opposite of what the powwow can and does do. If you don’t read anything else in this issue? Make that your one story.
And maybe also take a peek at the piece Lana Bortolot wrote on Alex Forden, the builder who not only does gorgeous work in the Hamptons but community-driven work, too, like the house he made for Janelle Moore, a Shinnecock Nation resident whose home was in peril. He knew he could do something about it, so he did.
But, you know, I don’t really mean “Don’t read anything else” because I also really want you to read the story I got to dive into on the world of underutilized fish and bycatch. It features great organizations like Cornell Cooperative Extension, along with forward-thinking chefs who want to make sure sustainability is about preserving our local foodways and the people who make a living hauling it in.
Oh, and! In October, the inimitable and (I hope she doesn’t mind that I say) mighty Florence Fabricant is releasing a memoir, and what a clear-eyed piece of work it is. From her childhood sampling pickles straight from the barrel to studying in France to homing in on farm-to-table at pretty much the exact moment that Alice Waters was doing the same in California, Fabricant isn’t just the journalist who gets the stories first, she’s chronicled our history through food. I got to ask her some questions — and you’ll want to read her answers!
As always, there’s a whole lot more in this, our Fall Living issue. Truth be told (and I know Emily will heartily agree with this sentiment): summer on the South Fork is great. But fall? Oh boy, that’s the stuff.
Thanks for reading,
Amy Zavatto, Editor-in-Chief
