Shinnecock Nation loses sovereignty bid

Wednesday, October 31, 2007  

Citing the "disruptive nature" of the Shinnecock Nation's attempts to assert sovereignty, a federal judge on Tuesday blocked the New York tribe from opening a gaming facility on ancestral land.

The tribe has lived on Long Island for thousands of years. Its reservation, located in the heart of the wealthy enclave known as the Hamptons, is recognized by the state as sovereign land.

But in a 129-page ruling, Judge Joseph F. Bianco said a disputed parcel outside the reservation is not sovereign territory. Though the tribe owns the "Westwoods" land in fee, it lost aboriginal title hundreds of years ago, the lengthy decision stated.

Bianco, a Bush appointee, said "the evidence overwhelmingly demonstrated in a plain and unambiguous manner that aboriginal title held by the Westwoods land was extinguished in the 17th century."

Yet even if aboriginal title still existed, Bianco said the tribe can't use the site for gaming due to the "highly disruptive consequences" of the proposed 61,000-square-foot casino. Nearly 20 pages of the opinion were dedicated to the impacts of gaming on the environment, traffic, health and safety.

To back up his reasoning, Bianco cited a recent U.S. Supreme Court case that has hurt several tribes as they pursue their land and sovereignty claims in New York. The Sherrill case required the Oneida Nation to go through the land-into-trust process before asserting sovereignty over properties within its ancestral reservation.

The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals has since used the decision to throw out a land claim by the Cayuga Nation and the Seneca-Cayuga Tribe. In his ruling, Bianco said Sherrill has "dramatically altered the legal landscape" of tribal claims.

"The 2005 decision of the United States Supreme Court in Sherrill set forth the legal framework under which a court must examine equitable doctrines in the context of an attempt by an Indian tribe to re-assert sovereignty over a parcel of land," Bianco wrote.

The ruling is the latest in a long series of roadblock the tribe has faced. Its petition for federal recognition has languished at the Bureau of Indian Affairs for more than 25 years, preventing the tribe from moving forward with gaming, economic development and other projects.

In November 2005, a federal judge declared the Shinnecocks a legitimate Indian tribe. But the Bush administration has refused to recognize the ruling and the tribe has since filed a lawsuit to force the BIA to take action.

In December 2006, another federal judge threw out the tribe's claim to 3,600 acres in Long Island. Judge Thomas C. Platt also cited the "disruptive" nature of the claim.

The tribe is taking the case to the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, which threw out the Cayuga land claim in June 2005 -- three months to the day after the Sherrill decision.

In hopes of resolving at least one of its battles, the Shinnecock Nation has offered to drop its Long Island casino plan in exchange for a contract at a state gaming facility near New York City. The tribe's plans call for a major casino-style resort in Queens.

The Shinnecocks are just one of several bidders for the project. The Seneca Nation of upstate New York, the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation of Connecticut and the Mohegan Tribe of Connecticut have also submitted proposals.

Gaming Court Decision:
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

Land Claim Court Decision:
Shinnecock Nation v. New York (November 28, 2006)

Federal Recognition Court Decision:
New York v. Shinnecock Nation (November 7, 2005)

Only on Indianz.Com:
Federal Recognition Database V2.0 (May 2005)

Relevant Links:
Shinnecock Indian Nation - http://www.shinnecocknation.com