'Celebrating Bonac' Will Spotlight East Hampton History Next Month

The Peter Matthiessen Center and filmmaker Joanne Friedland Roberts, in partnership with the Arts Center at Duck Creek and the East Hampton Historic Farm Museum, will host two weekends of stories, art, and sea shanties during “Celebrating Bonac,” an event sharing and celebrating the history of the old East Hampton community that Matthiessen chronicled in his book “Men’s Lives.”

The first “Celebrating Bonac” event will be held at Duck Creek, off Squaw Road in Springs, on October 1 from 3 to 5 p.m., showcasing the arts and traditions of the men and women who have fished and farmed the East End since the mid-1600s. The showcase will explore cultural arts passed down from generation to generation to spotlight the community’s unique lifestyle.

Baymen and descendants of the oldest Bonacker families — including Dave and Brent Bennett, Albie Lester, Shane Weeks, Michael Butler, Scott Chasky and Arnold Leo — will share stories of the fishing and farming lifestyle that dominated the local community for centuries before East Hampton became a booming resort community.

There will be displays of decoy carving, fish trap construction and net weaving, and a panel of local and native experts will explore their origins in the Native American community.

The second event will be held on October 15 at the East Hampton Historic Farm museum on North Main Street, at the edge of East Hampton Village. Museum Director and founder Prudence Talmage Carabine will lead a conversation about the history, ongoing struggles and persistence of the Bonacker and Native American communities in the region. Carabine will be joined by Deanna Tikkanen, Bruce Collins, Audrey Gaines and Peter Van Scoyoc.

“Over the past few months, the PMC has been grateful to spend time learning more about the history of these unique communities through the guidance of several local historians, as well as award-winning producer and filmmaker Joanne Friedland Roberts,” a statement from the Peter Matthiessen Center reads. “Joanne’s upcoming documentary, ‘The Bonackers,’ tells the evolving story of the descendants of these first settlers, who’ve fished and farmed the land and sea of the East End for the past 375 years. The film will introduce viewers to these fiercely independent locals, who may well be the last of their kind.”