Back in 1921, when Scatico was first founded in Wingdale, NY, the camp took its name from indigenous peoples whose ancestral home was the land camp was about to occupy: Schaghticoke First Nations. When Scatico moved to Elizaville, in 1934, we kept the name. 

We want to take a moment and acknowledge that the land camp currently stands on is the ancestral home to the Mohican, Lenape, and Schaghticoke People, historic indigenous people whose traditional lands extend through the Hudson and Harlem Valley regions of New York State.

In 2019, Camp Scatico’s and Schaghticoke First Nation’s paths unexpectedly crossed. While attending the Tri-State Camp Conference, David met a member of the tribe who instantly recognized the camp’s name as an echo of his peoples’. We formed a connection, and that same year, we reached out to Sachem HawkStorm, the current hereditary chief of Schaghticoke First Nations, to learn more about his people. 

Sachem HawkStorm, who we came to know as Hawk, came to camp so we could gain a deeper understanding of his people’s ceremonies, practices, and knowledge. Hawk and his fellow tribespeople shared the meaning of the word “Schaghticoke,” which translates to “the mingling of waters.” We learned that Schaghticoke was a name taken on by multiple Algonquian-speaking tribes during colonization, a time we must remember for the damages and harms done to the indigenous peoples.

Camp Scatico and Schaghticoke First Nations set an intention to continue dialogue and friendship with one another. To honor our friends in the Schaghticoke First Nations, we would like to invite our camp community to learn more about them and their work through their website.