Against All Odds: Shinnecock Nation Fights For Right To Build On East End Parcel

With Connecticut and New Jersey only a few hours away, Long Islanders can frequently be seen hitting the highways, byways and the high sees for a little R & R (roulette and recreation). But, can it be that soon Long Islander’s won’t have to travel very far at all for the same type of entertainment?

That very well “would” be the case if the Shinnecock Nation (here on Long Island) had its way. But, a federal judge has rejected their claim to convert nearly 4,000 acres of prime East End real estate into a casino. However, they continue to petition for the right to build (a casino) on a smaller parcel of land, the Shinnecock Nation already owns.

The U.S. District Court Judge presiding over the case recently released a 13-page finding that renounces the proposal by the Shinnecocks for lands including the Shinnecock Hills golf Club and the former Southampton College campus.

The original claim was presented with lots of verve back in 2005 with lots of verve as tribal members tapped sacred drums and burnt sage over a pile of legal documents before prior to personally walking them up the federal courthouse steps. Generations of Shinnecocks believed that the expanse was wrongfully denied them and “stolen” from them back in 1859 when power brokers made their focus the expansion fo the Long Island Rail Road’s Montauk line.

Howerver, the judge decreed that the Shinnecocks failed to meet a U. S. Supreme Court standard in which Native Americans need to exhibit that the lands they are vying for have remained in continuous historical dispute. And, he (the judge) added, that, it’s this principle that applies, especially if the area has been subject to significant changes over the course of time and history, furthermore noting that more than 140 years had passes singe the alleged wrongful dispossession and the attempt to regain possession.

But, the Shinnecock Board of Trustees released a deliberately “harsh” statement recently noting their promise to appeal the judge’s ruling and to continue with the Westwood case currently being tried in U.S District Court in Central Islip.