Dan's Papers - May 23, 2008 - Triumphs for Tribe

If things go well for the Shinnecock Indian Nation, they won't be the only ones with reason to celebrate. Two developments last week, if they come to pass, will provide the East End with a serene park in Water Mill on the site of what was once a sacred burial ground, and a fun-filled, cash-generating, economy-boosting casino, possibly in the Riverhead/Calverton area.

The 9.3-acre Water Mill parcel on Montauk Highway is thought to be the site of an ancient Shinnecock burial ground and fishing village. Southampton Town is looking into using $5 million of Community Preservation Fund money to purchase the site from Konner Construction.

The site, where the St. James Hotel once stood, has been believed to be a burial ground since the '70s. About ten years ago, the Town earmarked it as archaeologically significant. There have been "digs" on the site, and about a year and a half ago, a skull, estimated to be at least 1,000 years old, was unearthed during excavations supervised by archaeologist Joann McLean. The Suffolk County Medical Examiner determined that the skull was of a Native American male, and that there's a good probability that the rest of him is there as well. Former Southampton College professor Dr. John Strong, an expert in the field, said that chances are that skeleton had company - there are probably more remains to be found.

Burial grounds are considered the most sacred places to many Native Americans, so preserving the land is a big coup for the Shinnecocks. Rebecca Genio, president of the tribe's historic preservation task force, feels that it would help the Town, too. Genio believes that the thoughtless development on the site has led to "bad karma" - that is, suicides, accidents and drownings near the area. She believes Southampton could reverse the bad vibes of the past by doing the right thing in the here and now.

Southampton Town Supervisor Linda Kabot is firmly behind the effort to preserve the land. While there are no definite plans on how it would be designed, the general idea is to keep it pretty mellow - a passive park, with a kiosk with information on the history of the site.

With a tremendous stock of CPF money and fewer and fewer properties or land left to preserve, this seems like a no-brainer as far as appropriate usage of the Fund. Southampton, in the first two months of this year, socked an additional $6 million into the CPF, which has banked over $500 million in revenue from all five towns in the last eight years. Not only would the purchase make sense as a preservation effort, it would be a show of goodwill toward the Shinnecocks - one of the rare win/win situations for all concerned.

The Shinnecocks haven't always had an easy go of it in the county. They've been in litigation for land ownership and, most important, for the coveted federal recognition as a real tribe. Although New York State has recognized them for 200 years as an authentic tribe, they haven't gotten the stamp of approval from the Federal Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). This is important for many reasons, one of which is the Shinnecock's ability to get the go-ahead for a casino - only tribes recognized by the BIA can operate casinos on tribal land. The Shinnecocks have filed a lawsuit in federal court to earn that recognition, expected to be approved in 2009.

The tribal lands include the Shinnecock Hills reservation south of the Old Montauk Highway - but no one, not even tribe members, wanted a casino there. The tribe also owns property on Newtown Road in Hampton Bays and threatened to build a casino there. Several years ago they broke ground, but, thankfully, it turned out to be an empty gesture.

In a turnaround last week, in a meeting with members of Suffolk County Legislature, the Shinnecock Tribe admitted that they never planned to build a casino in Hampton Bays. They've been looking for a site farther west. State officials said that they would be willing to operate a casino somewhere outside of the Hamptons, such as Calverton or elsewhere in middle Suffolk.

To build a case for the casino, the Shinnecock Indian Nation Gaming Authority and the Connecticut Center for Economic Analysis made a pitch last week to the county leaders. Their reports stated that a Native American gaming establishment (e.g. a casino) on Long Island would bring an influx of new jobs and flood the local economy with new revenue. The research demonstrated that such a project would result in 10,200 new jobs, $445 million in new local employment salaries, and over $2.5 billion in new revenue to local and state governments, not to mention a lot of fun for the millions who would flock to the casino, which the tribe leaders said would include a gaming facility, golf course, hotel rooms, convention space, restaurants and clubs - just like Foxwoods.

County legislators seemed open to the proposals. Legislator Louis D'Amaro was glad the tribe reached out with the plan, seeing it as an open door. Legislator Wayne R. Horsley said that, even though a casino has been a controversial topic in the past, the new proposal merits examination. He stated, "As the local economy continues to soften, we thought it would be worth while to examine the economic benefits of a gaming establishment here on Long Island. After all, we currently contribute to the staggering $234 million in estimated out-of-state gaming funds enjoyed by Connecticut State residents. So the question is why not take a hard look at what the benefits would be if we stopped riding the ferry and started spending our money here on Long Island. In our economy."