SPACING="0" CELLPADDING="3" width="100%"><tr><td><font class=headline>Shinnecock awash in battles

FROM THE ARCHIVE

SPACING="0" CELLPADDING="3" width="100%">Shinnecock awash in battles

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JULY 17, 2000

The Shinnecock Tribe of New York are a state recognized tribe on the east end of Long Island, located next to the millionaires playground known as The Hamptons. Historically, the tribe has kept to themselves but faced with poverty, health problems, and continuous encroachment by the state and local landowners, the tribe has had to fight its political and legal battles more publicly.

A younger group of tribal members are leading the efforts, talking about filing a land claim 3,600 prime acres on the island. Not being federally recognized, the tribe has been discouraged from filing land claims and will not receive any assistance from the Department of Justice (Eds: Not the BIA, as the article claims), who typically intervene or sue on behalf of tribes in lawsuits.

Cancer rates are high. The median per capita income is about $6,000, where about 500 live. The water system, contaminated with the pesticide Temik at levels seven times the amount considered safe, is not hooked up to the county water supply, who won't run the pipes to the reservation.

The 1790 Non-Intercourse Act doesn't require a tribe to be federally recognized in order to apply to a taking of land without federal approval. The Narrangansett Tribe of Rhode Island and the Passamaquoddy Tribe of Maine won their land claims despite not being federally recognized at the time.

Get the Story:
Political Awakening of an Insular Tribe (The New York Times 7/17)