- Details
- By Jenna Kunze
A group of Shinnecock Nation grave protectors on Long Island, New York, will hold a rally at the Southampton Town hall next Monday, August 5, to ask city officials to better preserve and protect their sacred lands, according to the group.
For decades now, an inter-tribal coalition, called the Shinnecock Graves Protection Warrior Society, has been working to preserve their ancestral homelands from over-development in the town of Southampton. In the area, comprising seven villages that consistently ranks among the most expensive area codes in the United State, the Shinnecock Nation has been up against old money, and the power it holds, for generations.
When settlers arrived on the Shinnecock Nation’s shores in 1640, the Nation eventually gave the newcomers a swath of land to live on. But the settlers wanted more–and eventually stole everything but 3,600 acres of land from their new neighbors. In 1703, the town offered the Shinnecock a thousand-year lease to live on those 3,600 acres in an area known as the Shinnecock Hills in Southampton but later broke that lease by falsifying records in 1859.
Since 1859, the Shinnecock Nation territory has been reduced by nearly 80 percent and moved to lower land on a peninsula on the island’s south shore.
But the tribe’s ancestral burial grounds remained in Shinnecock Hills, an area with the town of Southampton so beautiful that everyone wants a piece of it: business owners, developers, homeowners—there’s even four golf courses within the traditional territory. Over the years, all but 250 acres of available land in Shinnecock Hills has been purchased and developed by private citizens, citizen Becky Genia said.
The Grave Protection Warriors’ main request is for the town to use its Community Preservation Fund, a fund dedicated to land preservation, to buy up the remaining available land in the hills for preservation. The cost, at roughly a million dollars an acre, would be $250 million.
The preservation fund, which is paid for by a 2 percent real estate transfer tax, has generated more than $1.1 billion since its inception in 1999. It has spent roughly $739 million on its purchases, according to a 2020 report on the town’s website. As of January 2022, the available unrestricted balance for the Community Preservation Fund was $152.7 million, according to Stephanie Leibowitz, research technician at the Town of Southampton.
The rally will be held at 12 p.m. at 116 Hampton Road, Southampton.
More Stories Like This
50 Years of Self-Determination: How a Landmark Act Empowered Tribal Sovereignty and Transformed Federal-Tribal RelationsMacArthur Foundation Launches Native Self-Determination Program, Pledges Expanded Support
In Runoff Triumph, David Sickey Elected Chairman of Coushatta Tribe
San Carlos Tribe Celebrates Temporary Victory in Federal Court to Save Oak Flat
LAND BACK: 47,097 Acres Returned to Yurok Tribe
Help us tell the stories that could save Native languages and food traditions
At a critical moment for Indian Country, Native News Online is embarking on our most ambitious reporting project yet: "Cultivating Culture," a three-year investigation into two forces shaping Native community survival—food sovereignty and language revitalization.
The devastating impact of COVID-19 accelerated the loss of Native elders and with them, irreplaceable cultural knowledge. Yet across tribal communities, innovative leaders are fighting back, reclaiming traditional food systems and breathing new life into Native languages. These aren't just cultural preservation efforts—they're powerful pathways to community health, healing, and resilience.
Our dedicated reporting team will spend three years documenting these stories through on-the-ground reporting in 18 tribal communities, producing over 200 in-depth stories, 18 podcast episodes, and multimedia content that amplifies Indigenous voices. We'll show policymakers, funders, and allies how cultural restoration directly impacts physical and mental wellness while celebrating successful models of sovereignty and self-determination.
This isn't corporate media parachuting into Indian Country for a quick story. This is sustained, relationship-based journalism by Native reporters who understand these communities. It's "Warrior Journalism"—fearless reporting that serves the 5.5 million readers who depend on us for news that mainstream media often ignores.
We need your help right now. While we've secured partial funding, we're still $450,000 short of our three-year budget. Our immediate goal is $25,000 this month to keep this critical work moving forward—funding reporter salaries, travel to remote communities, photography, and the deep reporting these stories deserve.
Every dollar directly supports Indigenous journalists telling Indigenous stories. Whether it's $5 or $50, your contribution ensures these vital narratives of resilience, innovation, and hope don't disappear into silence.
The stakes couldn't be higher. Native languages are being lost at an alarming rate. Food insecurity plagues many tribal communities. But solutions are emerging, and these stories need to be told.
Support independent Native journalism. Fund the stories that matter.
Levi Rickert (Potawatomi), Editor & Publisher
