Shane Weeks Bestowed With Volunteer Service Award at U.N. General Assembly

For his entire life, Shane Weeks has been dedicated to community service, and to the Shinnecock Nation in particular, starting at the age of just 1 year old, when he was participating in traditional dances.

On a big stage last month, in the presence of influential powerhouses from around the world, the 33-year-old artist, activist and educator was honored for more than three decades of dedicating himself to uplifting the Shinnecock community.

Weeks was the recipient of the Presidential Call to Service Award, also known as the Lifetime Volunteer Award, during the United Nations General Assembly gathering, which recently wrapped up in New York City.

The award was bestowed upon Weeks during a special event on September 20, when he was presented with a medal, a certificate and a letter signed by President Biden.

Weeks was honored by New Generation in Action, a U.N.-approved global organization founded in 2012 by Her Royal Majesty Queen Angelique Monet Gureje-Thompson, the Queen Consort of Eti-Oni, the oldest cocoa plantation in Nigeria. The nongovernmental organization’s mission is to “promote tolerance and world peace for the underrepresented people in our world,” according to its website.

The U.N. General Assembly gathers world leaders from United Nations member states each year at the U.N. headquarters in New York.

Weeks met HRM Monet Gureje-Thompson four years ago, through a mutual friend, and they established a connection, having several conversations about similar interests like film making. They shared a desire to work together and collaborate on certain projects and cultural exchanges, and stayed in touch. HRM Monet Gureje-Thompson lived for a period of time on the East End as well.

Weeks has been a powerful representative and activist for Shinnecock culture and traditions and ways of life for as long as he could walk, and in more recent years has become one of the most recognizable voices and faces of Shinnecock advocacy on the East End and beyond.

He is a multi-hyphenate presence as an artist, ambassador, lecturer and more, serving on the Southampton Town Arts and Culture Committee, the Graves Protection Warrior Society, and more. He regularly hosts workshops and gives lectures and presentations on Shinnecock history, culture and traditions at many different venues, from schools and community centers to public panel discussions, and more.

While he has a well-established reputation as an activist and a force in the Shinnecock community locally, he said being recognized on a big stage at a globally famous event with influential international leaders was special.

“They were recognizing and honoring the work I’ve done involving the Shinnecock Nation, bridging gaps of awareness between my community and many communities around the world, and trying to have our story heard and told,” he said, adding that HRM Monet Gureje-Thompson has been aware and supportive of the work he’s done since they first met.

“It was a big moment for me and a big moment in general to be recognized as a Native American,” Weeks said. “Because it wasn’t that long ago where our culture and our history and all those things I try to bring to the forefront of the world were not legal [to talk about]. So to be a younger person, under 35, and to be recognized for bringing our culture and community to the world stage is humbling.”

HRM Monet Gureje-Thompson said Weeks was chosen as the recipient of the award because his work is so well aligned with the mission of New Generation in Action.

“Our goal is to use the arts and film and artisans to work for the sustainable development goals that the U.N. has to leave no one behind,” she said. “Part of my heritage is Indigenous too, and it’s important that the world understands the value not only of voices that are unheard or often go unknown, but also to have access to information that Indigenous people around the world have to teach, and that will really help us as we’re going through these hard time post-pandemic.

“Indigenous people have a lot to teach about how to preserve Mother Earth, and it’s important that people from around the world coming to the United States see the original people, and all they have to offer still, and how the voices of Native Americans are still going strong in the U.S.”

During the ceremony, Weeks was not only presented with the award and given time to speak about Shinnecock history, he also was given the stage to perform a traditional Shinnecock song in front of several dignitaries from Nigeria and other countries that were in attendance.

“It really goes to show that there are so many audiences and people who are willing and want to hear our story as Indigenous people,” Weeks said. “It really highlights the connections that we have around the world, and really highlights the inter-relations that we have as human beings, and the fact that so many of our messages are related around the world.”

Weeks said that being recognized in such a big international venue, during a time when so many people from so many different countries have gathered together in one of the biggest cities in the world, was a kind of spiritual recharge, a dose of energy that is sometimes necessary for people doing advocacy work, which he says is an honor he proudly carries but can be spiritually burdensome at times as well.

“I hope more Indigenous people are able to be recognized for their work,” he said. “Because there are so many from our community and other communities that are doing such great work.

“I think part of our uprising, if you will, as a community is being able to have our voice amplified by neighbors and surrounding communities,” he added. “It really does help us a lot and gives us the motivation to keep going and continue this work, because it’s not always easy.”