This morning, for the first time in its history, the Shinnecock Indian Nation, is facing simultaneous lawsuits from both the Town of Southampton and the State of New York. In an excessive and unprecedented act to stop the Shinnecock Indian Nation from reaching true self-reliance, the Town is claiming that Shinnecock Tribal lands are under the zoning and building jurisdiction of the Town.

Last Sunday, the State initiated a lawsuit and served the Tribe with a temporary restraining order to prevent building on tribal lands, which the Nation fully intends to use as an Indian gaming facility. As a result, the Shinnecock Nation was forced to seek protection and safety from the State through Federal means. Today, the Town of Southampton commenced a lawsuit against the Tribe.

“For the past 400 years we have lived peacefully with the Town,” said Tribal Trustee Lance Gumbs. “Now, we have to now defend our land, which has been rightfully ours for thousands of years. And while the Town uses taxpayer’s money against us, we have no choice but to tap into our own Tribal government resources to fight the Town – money that we would rather use to improve our quality of life. State and the Town officials should be embarrassed.”

The Shinnecock Indian Nation has not “thumbed its nose” at either the State or the Town, as one newspaper, claimed. For the past year, the Nation has tried countless times to initiate a dialogue with both governmental entities concerning the Shinnecock Nations’ plans for economic development. Both the State and the Town have repeatedly declined the invitation.

This past weekend, the State’s temporary restraining order ran out, and under the supervision of tribal environmentalists and archeological monitors, the Nation commenced clearing a portion of tribal land, the proposed site for future planning of an Indian gaming facility. The Town, apparently, saw this as an opportunity to attempt to seize control of tribal lands and to use taxpayer’s money to wage a battle against its 400-year old Indian neighbors, most of whom live below the federal poverty line.

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