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Queens Memory Project and collaborations on indigenous history
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The Queens Memory Project, a collaboration between QPL and CUNY Queens College, focuses on collecting and preserving local histories, including those of indigenous peoples.
- A notable project is the Old Town of Flushing Burial Ground, documenting a Native and African American burial site from the 18th-19th centuries.
- The project inspired the 2019 Queens Museum exhibit 'Monuments to an Effigy' by Alexandria Smith.
- QPL is working with Zion Episcopal Church in Douglaston to examine its relationship with the local Matinecock Nation, including the 1931 relocation of their burial grounds.
Sharon Myrie
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In partnership with CUNY Queens College, QPL's Queen's Memory Project collects personal histories, photographs, and other records of contemporary life in the borough.
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Since 2016, Queen's Memory has been collaborating with profess professor Jonathan Thayer and graduate students on the ongoing project, the old town of Flushing burial ground.
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Starting initially as grassroots community activism, the project aims to document and preserve the original native and African American burial ground that dates back to the 18th 19th centuries, which was turned into a city park in the 19 thirties.
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Including local residents, several of whom are descendants of those buried at the location, this collaborative effort continues to reveal more about the history of the grounds through research and interviews and shares its study through public public presentations, lesson plans, oral history interviews, and genealogical research on the Queen's Memory website.
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In 2019, the burial ground in this research project served as an inspiration for a Queen's Museum exhibit by Alexandria Smith called Monuments to an Effigy.
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More recently, Queen's Memory has been working with Zion Episcopal Church in Douglaston to examine the church's history, in particular, its relationship with the local Minnetkaq Nation.
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With support from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, Queen's memory is working with the church to examine and reveal its past relationships with the tribe, especially the relocation in 1931 of their burial grounds to the churchyard.
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In February, we hosted a 4 week community conversation series with Zion at our Douglaston Little Neck Library, and we're currently coordinating a follow-up series for next year.
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We look forward to sharing our research about the Manicoc and their experience and relationship with Zion Episcopal Church as our research continues.