Josephine Smith

Josephine Smith is an enrolled member of the Shinnecock Indian Nation, a federally recognized Indigenous community located on the eastern end of Long Island, New York. She lives on Shinnecock territory with her family near Southampton and is deeply rooted in her community’s cultural traditions and lifeways. She began foraging and cooking at a young age, watching her mother, grandmother, aunts, and uncles. As a lifelong cultural bearer, she continued her interest in learning about the traditional foods and medicines of her people and passed this knowledge on to her children and grandchildren. For over 25 years, she developed recipes and sold her foods as a vendor at powwows. She has given presentations on traditional foods and has catered special event receptions for museums and cultural organizations. Josephine is also a traditionally trained artist and owns her own business as a skilled jewelry, craft, and regalia designer. She founded Hands of Tradition, a business that showcases and sells handmade art and items created by her immediate and extended family of Shinnecock artisans. Josephine has worked for many years as an educator, including roles with the Shinnecock Nation Museum and the Shinnecock Indian Education Program. She currently serves as Director of the Cultural Resources Department for the Shinnecock Nation, where she leads efforts in cultural preservation, teaching, and community programming.