Searching for Paumanok: A Study of Library of Congress Authorities and Classifications for Indigenous Long Island, New York

Abstract

Long Island is a case in point of the United States settler state landscape co-opting Indigenous peoples and places for naming geographies, beaches, and spaces. Despite ubiquity, the historic Indigenous origins and contexts have been largely obscured and overwritten. This study assesses the availability and accuracy of terms for organizing, classifying, and describing works by and about Indigenous Long Island. It reveals a lack of representation in catalog records and suggests remediation through establishing subjects and names with accurate, culturally relevant terms. A symbolic form of land acknowledgment, this practice of accountability fosters commemoration, reclamation, and reparation processes.