Reverend Paul Cuffee (3.4.1757 - 3.7.1812)
- Charlie Roe
- Mar 18
- 1 min read
Updated: Mar 19
March is known for St. Patrick. But whose stories are we missing? This month on March 4th, we also remember Paul Cuffee: Shinnecock leader, preacher, and Indigenous witness in the early Church. Indigenous faith history is not forgotten. It’s just overdue to be told. Living in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Paul Cuffee served his community as a teacher and spiritual leader at a time when Native voices were marginalized both in society and in the Church. His story challenges the myth that Christianity in America was only shaped by European settlers. Indigenous people were not just recipients of the faith; they interpreted it, led within it, and proclaimed it in their own communities. This March, as we celebrate well-known saints, let’s also remember the Native leaders whose faith endured colonization, dispossession, and erasure. Indigenous history is not a footnote. It is part of the story of the Church.
A brief history is below:
Reverend Paul Cuffee
(3.4.1757 - 3.7.1812)
Rev. Cuffee converted to Christianity in his early 20's. He was ordained by the Presbyterian Church and became a preacher and missionary to his own Shinnecock and other Native communities around Long Island (present day Mastic & Mastic Beach, Hampton Bays, Hampton Bays, and Montauk). Rev. Cuffee created meeting grounds and safe havens for Long Island Natives to hold diplomatic and spiritual practices.
Buried on a tiny plot of land at Canoe Place in Hampton Bays, Rev. Cuffee’s legacy is visible in the ceremonial “June Meeting” for the Shinnecock & Poospatuck/Unkechaug Nations, that inlcudes a Christian worship service. His feast day is March 4, his birthday.
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