GoFundMe Drive Started To Support Shinnecock High School And College Grads

When Sebastian Hunter-Cuyjet left his dorm at Bowdoin College on March 13, bound for his hometown of Southampton for spring break, he didn’t know that only a few days later, he’d be told to return and pack up all his belongings, reducing the remainder of his senior year on campus to a frantic one-day exodus.

In short order, he found himself trying to concentrate on finishing the course work toward his bachelor’s degree in English — specifically an honors project focused on using Native American literature to argue for indigenous land practices and Native American sovereignty — not in his usual favorite spot at the Bowdoin library, but in his childhood home on the Shinnecock Territory, joining the ranks of students around the country whose lives were turned upside down by the coronavirus pandemic.

It was a challenge, he admitted, to stay focused on his work instead of dwelling on how he didn’t have the chance to say goodbye to all the friends and professors he’d become close with over the years.

“It was very surreal, because I hadn’t graduated, but I was moving out,” he said.

Several months later, Go-Gi-Sgk So-Qui-Li Dimalanta, a Shinnecock tribal member like Mr. Hunter-Cuyjet, was having a surreal moment of her own, participating in a virtual graduation from her high school, The U School, in Philadelphia, where she was the valedictorian. Her graduation party was small, including her immediate family and four of her closest girlfriends.

Her educational journey had already had some bumps in the road — she moved to Philadelphia in 2014 after finishing sixth grade at Southampton High School, and, worried about making the transition to bigger schools in the city, had done two years of middle school online, before finding her way to the U School, a more progressive public school with a hands-on learning environment that suited her personality. Speaking about her recent graduation, Ms. Dimalanta said she was jealous of students whose schools had done some form of an in-person, socially distanced ceremony.

“It’s very depressing,” she said, with a pained sigh of resignation. She paused before adding. “It sucks.”

COVID-19 has not only robbed graduates like Mr. Hunter-Cuyjet and Ms. Dimalanta of the some many traditional joys of a senior years — prom, graduation ceremonies, ample time for in-person goodbyes — but has made their immediate future murky, at a time when the choices they make can be particularly crucial to the career paths they ultimately take.

Ms. Dimalanta is currently unsure whether she’ll go to college in the fall, or pursue a job, with the virus’s continued grip on the country making both options daunting in a number of ways.

They are trying to stay positive — Mr. Hunter-Cuyjet is moving to Detroit at the end of August to begin a job as a sixth-grade history teacher with Teach for America, and said he feels grateful for that opportunity despite the challenges that come with being an educator in the midst of a pandemic.

He watched many of his peers struggle to find a job, or secure one only to see it taken away because of the virus.

Ms. Dimalanta has been trying to keep the advice of her mother, Staysea Lee Hutching-McCutcheon, close to her heart.

“She told me, ‘You have a right to feel this way, but don’t let it overpower you,’” she said. “I’m still grateful for every other class of 2020, because we’re all in this, alone but together.”

Trying to find a way to let young Shinnecock graduates know that they aren’t alone, and that their community at home loves and supports them, was on Andrina Wekontash Smith’s mind in the late spring and early summer. She found herself thinking back to her own graduation from Emerson College in Boston in 2007. Her parents held a graduation party for her and her brother, Trumaine Smith, who graduated from Southampton High School in the same year.

“There was hugging, and dancing, and it was also an opportunity for people to give you a graduation envelope that had anywhere from $25 to $100 in it,” she said. Ms. Smith used the money to put a down payment on her first apartment, adding that it gave her a sense of empowerment. Thinking back on that moment, she wanted to find a way to give 2020 graduates the same feeling.

On July 3, Ms. Smith started a GoFundMe page — which she named The Shinnecock Nation Graduation Envelope Challenge — with the intention of raising enough money to give each of the 23 Shinnecock tribal members who graduated from high school or college this year a gift of $500.

Ms. Smith, who now lives in Brooklyn, has a vibrant career as a writer and artist, working with a sketch comedy group in New York while also preparing to direct an upcoming stage reading at Guild Hall in August, among other endeavors, but has long been dedicated to educating and mentoring young people as well, particularly those from the territory.

The graduates who will benefit from the GoFundMe are a diverse group, and Ms. Smith pointed out that no matter what their story is, whether they’re college bound, have secured a job or not, they deserve support.

“I wanted to give them an opportunity, and celebrate their accomplishment, and let them know that I trust you to have the responsibility over yourself to make the necessary decisions for your life,” she said. “Sometimes we tend to infantilize this generation, and while, yes, they need guidance, they also need our trust.”

Supporting young indigenous students and students of color has been more important than ever for Ms. Smith, and it was something she addressed in a speech she was asked to make at the vigil in Southampton for George Floyd earlier in the summer, which she said also provided extra impetus to put words into action.

“The youth on the East End require our support,” she said. “If we’re not retaining them and supporting them in our endeavors, then we’re not preparing the next generation to take over. We have to build their self-esteem and self-worth and trust in us to know that if they fall down, we have their back.”

As of mid-July, the GoFundMe had raised $4,775 toward its goal of $11,500. Ms. Smith said she plans to keep it active until September, around the time the tribe usually celebrates its annual Powwow — although officials announced this weekend that the powwow will be closed to outside visitors this year because of the virus.

While the virus has caused the cancellation of that tradition in its usual grandeur, Ms. Smith said there will still be a small, tribal gathering, at which time she wants to present each graduate with a gift of $500 from the fundraising effort.

She pointed out that many lucrative summer jobs young people typically procure during the busy summer months have either been cancelled entirely or come to an end around September, meaning the money would be much appreciated at that time.

The 23 graduates are still trying to move forward with their lives despite the added challenges the virus has thrown their way. Isabel Sarah Begun is on her way to NYU, with an eye toward a career in television, music and media; Sincere Faggins, a standout athlete who played football and basketball at Southampton High School, is heading to UTI Houston in Texas, working toward a career as an auto mechanic, with hopes of one day opening his own shop; being able to don a cap and gown was a big achievement for Joel F.E. Smith, who overcame struggles with anxiety and depression to graduate from Babylon High School with a Regent’s diploma. Those are just a few of their stories.

“There are kids who will be successful regardless, because it’s in their DNA, and there are some kids who really need that extra support,” Ms. Smith said. “I’m not here to judge their journey. I’m just here to let them know they’re not alone.”

For Ms. Dimalanta, that sentiment is more important than any amount of money she receives.

“I don’t really care about the money,” she said. “They didn’t have to do this, but for [Ms. Smith] and the whole Nation to pitch in for all of us, it really means a lot. It’s a great feeling.”

Mr. Hunter-Cuyjet expressed gratitude as well, while reflecting on how the virus cast its pale over this time in his life.

“I graduated, but almost feel like I haven’t graduated because we didn’t get that big send-off,” he said. “To see some of the greatest unemployment we’ve had since the Great Depression, it is very depressing for people my age, and even for high school graduates who will lack that real college experience. So Andrina doing this, it gives us the hope we need in times like these.”

That message of hope was featured in Ms. Dimalanta’s valedictorian speech, which she delivered while sitting in front of her laptop. A large gray and white feather, a graduation gift from her cousin, hung down the right side of her cap. She had painted her face, with a red hand covering her mouth, chin and cheek meant to bring awareness to Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, and a black hand painted on her throat to represent Black Lives Matter. White and purple wampum shells were adorned on the suede wrappings around long braids draped over her shoulders. She spoke of what future grandchildren would say about her and her peers; how they’d be remembered for everything they overcame, the sacrifices they had to make, and above all, their resilience.

“Today, I welcome my fellow graduates,” she began, a nervous edge in her voice. “I didn’t …” she paused, fighting back tears. “I didn’t think we’d do it like this though.”

After a deep breath, she regained her composure before stating, clearly, and with renewed conviction: “Class of 2020, we are history in the making.”

For more information, visit www.gofundme.com/f/dc4d6