Town Protects Ancient Shinnecock Burial Sites In 'Emotional' Vote

SOUTHAMPTON, NY — After years of pleas by the Shinnecock Indian Nation to save ancestral burial grounds in the Sugar Loaf Hill area of Southampton, there was victory Tuesday: The Southampton town board voted unanimously to green-light the $5.3 million purchase of a conservation easement for 4.5 acres at the peak of Sugar Loaf Hill.

The area, said Tela Troge of the Shinnecock Indian Nation, is "the most sacred ancestral Shinnecock burial area in the Shinnecock Hills."

The Peconic Land Trust is set to close on the parcel next week, and after an existing mansion located on the parcel is dismantled and restoration work is done, the site will be returned to Shinnecock, Troge said.

"This wouldn't have been possible without the outpouring of love and support we received from our friends and neighbors," Troge said. "Tabutne," she added, which means "Thank you."

The land is located at 536 Montauk Highway in Shinnecock Hills; the property will be added to Southampton Town's community preservation project plan in the Shinnecock Hills greenway target preservation area as an eligible site for open space, the resolution said.

The Peconic Land Trust will sell the development rights to the property to the town for the $5.3 million, the resolution added.

At Tuesday's town board meeting, Southampton Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman said the move was "a long time in the making." There is still some sadness in that the area is sacred to the Shinnecock people and through the years, they have witnessed the desecration of their ancient burial grounds, Schneiderman said.

"We could never quite feel the pain that they must feel because of it. But if we move forward today it is a significant step forward in terms of recognizing some of the harm that's been done and also, taking a small step toward cleansing a historic wound that is quite deep," the supervisor said.

Schneiderman thanked the many who have led the charge to preserve the land including Troge, Becky Genia, and Chairman Bryan Polite of the Shinnecock Nation, as well as private individuals including Pink Floyd's Roger Waters, who has been a vocal advocate for the Shinnecock Nation in recent months and donated funds to help facilitate the preservation.

Waters, when asked if he wanted to speak, just said, "Thank you, this is very emotional."

Polite said he could not express how appreciative the Shinnecock Nation was, "to put away some of the past friction between Southampton and our neighbors. This doesn't just affect us, but the whole community. Our ancestors thank you. As 382-year neighbors, we have a lot to go, and a lot to address, but this is a huge, huge step forward."

"Today was a great day!" Troge said.

John Halsey, founder and president of the Peconic Land Trust, said the acquisition represents "the possibility for a new paradigm and the basis for a greater trust between the Shinnecock people and the people of Southampton. It is about building a new bridge to one another, based on hope and mutual respect."

He thanked those who offered private support and said funds are still needed for transaction costs and maintenance expenses for the parcel.

After months of protest by members of the Shinnecock Nation, the Southampton Town board acted in September to protect sacred burial grounds from development and desecration.

At that meeting, the Southampton town board voted unanimously to approve the Graves Protection Act and the Shinnecock Hills Building Moratorium to protect areas believed to be ancient burial grounds after members of the Shinnecock Nation had long rallied to stop building in the Fort Hill and Sugar Loaf areas and other locations where their ancestors are buried.

The Graves Protection Act establishes protocols if human remains are encountered during construction activities — and the six-month moratorium halted new home construction or excavation within areas that included the Fort Hill and the Sugar Loaf areas of Shinnecock Hills and beyond to Peconic Road without first completing an archaeological review.

New York State is one of only four states that lack the Graves Protection Act, town officials said.

The moratorium also affected other large-scale excavation projects in the areas, including accessory structures and swimming pools.

The moratorium was meant to allow time for the town to enact safeguards to prevent the inadvertent desecration of graves and archeological resources in the sensitive area.

"The sanctity of human burial sites must be protected," said Schneiderman at the time. "We need to be sure we are not disturbing our cultural heritage and destroying ancestral burial grounds."

In January, 2020 a crowd of more than 100 stood in solidarity with members of the Shinnecock Indian Nation engaged in the ongoing rally to save their ancestral burial grounds from development in the Hamptons.

According to Troge, supporters arrived from sister tribes and also from various groups the Shinnecocks have been networking with; the Mashantucket Pequots sent a bus of their tribal members and tribal leaders from Connecticut, she said.

"We were able to block a couple of large pieces of excavator equipment from entering the site. No construction work happened today," Troge said at the time.

Earlier in the year, a large electronic billboard erected by the Shinnecock Indian Nation on Sunrise Highway that sparked outcry from some elected officials and residents was illuminated as a symbol of the tribe's fight to protect its ancient ancestral burial grounds from development.

The sign read: "Stop Desecration of Shinnecock Hills," along with a photo of an ongoing protest that been ongoing for months, with members of the Shinnecock Indian Nation speaking out to halt the desecration of their ancestors' sacred burial site by a development given the green light by Southampton Town.

"We are able to get our message out there in a big way now on our tribal monument sign!" said Shinnecock Nation Vice President Lance Gumbs on Facebook. "Silent no more!"

In 2018, at a site on Hawthorne Road in Shinnecock Hills, tribe members said an ancestor's grave was desecrated when a skull, bones, and 18th-century glass bottle were unearthed during the construction of a home just minutes from the reservation.

After the remains were unearthed in 2018, Southampton Town closed on the purchase of property where the human remains were found; the Shinnecock Indian Nation raised an additional $50,000 for the restoration and preservation of the burial site, officials said.

According to Troge, Sugar Loaf is a New York State and Town of Southampton designated critical environmental area. "It is the site of Shinnecock's most sacred burial area in the Shinnecock Hills and the site of the Shinnecock Contact-era fort."

The Shinnecock tribe's fight to protect their sacred burial sites was the focus of a recent PBS documentary, "Conscience Point."

In 2020, Waters also donated toward Sovereignty Camp 2020. During "Sovereignty Camp 2020," members of the Shinnecock Nation held a month-long occupation of original aboriginal territory on Sunrise Highway in Hampton Bays to shine a light on the need for the tribe's economic advancement.

Waters, who has a home on the South Fork, spoke to members of the Shinnecock Nation during a virtual teach-in for Sovereignty Camp held on Zoom.

Times are changing, Waters said; it's no longer 1940, 1950, 1870, or 1880. "There is a global movement now taking place where people are beginning to take the relationship of the Colonial settlers, which is us, with the Indigenous people whose lands we settled over those hundreds of years, seriously. . . " The Shinnecock Nation and slaves, too, were treated poorly, he said. "It sickens us all. But these are new days. Each fresh day that dawns now, there are a few more of us and our voice is growing, thank goodness."

Waters thanked Genia for the documentary, "Conscience Point," which chronicles the struggles of the Shinnecock Indian Nation to preserve ancient burial grounds in the shadow of towering mega-mansions, golf clubs, and wrecking balls.

"I will support Sovereignty Camp and we will do whatever we can to help you," Waters said. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm onboard for this and will be for as long as there is breath in my body."