Aerial view of beach on Peconic Bay in New York. Image from Google Maps

A landowner agreed to talks with the Shinnecock Nation of New York after tribal members stopped bulldozers from crossing a sacred beach site.

The tribe owns 79 acres on Peconic Bay where it holds a summer gathering. The landowner did not secure permission to cross the land for an erosion control project on his property.

“This is a sacred place for us,” Nicole Banks, a tribal trustee, told The Southampton Press. “This is a place where we come as a community and gather, and it’s very dear to our hearts. We ask that they respect the land and respect the tribe.”

The tribe controls the land to the high-tide mark.

Get the Story:
Tribe Protests Beach Work In Hampton Bays (The Southampton Press 6/11)