Reparations Are Tricky…
…so we’ll settle for the golf course.
Shinnecock Indians lay claim to valuable NY land
NEW YORK (Reuters) — The Shinnecock Indian tribe said on Wednesday it was seeking billions of dollars for 150 years of back rent on land it inhabited for 12,000 years in New York state in one of the largest suits of its kind.
The area is part of the Hamptons, known as a summer playground for New York’s rich and privileged classes who flock there to escape the heat of the city.
The tribe filed the lawsuit against New York State in the U.S. district court in Central Islip.
The suit, which also names the governor, a local railroad and the town of Southampton, lays claim to 3,600 acres of land encompassing the upscale Shinnecock Hills Golf Course and Long Island University’s Southampton College.
Don’t you long for the days when a lawsuit was just for a cup of coffee dumped in your lap?
Humanity...or the Lack Thereof | tree hugging sister | 
June 16, 2005 12:24 am
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I had to Google “Shinnecock”, just to make sure you weren’t shining us on, THS….
The Shinnecock tribal history is summarized at http://www.shinnecocknation.com/history.asp
What I found interesting is this statement:
“Today, we number over 1300 people, more than 600 of whom reside on the reservation adjacent to the Town of Southampton on the East End of Long Island. While our ancestral lands have dwindled over the centuries from a territory stretching at least from what is known today as the Town of Easthampton and westward to the eastern border of the Town of Brookhaven, we still hold on to approximately 1200 acres.”
And they are suing for “billions” of dollars? Boy, that tribe is about to get really rich, on a per capita basis.
I really think there’s gotta be a statute of limitations issue here someplace…
Can I just say that I fucking hate this crap? Grow up, you schmucks: it’s long since past time to abandon the whole “sovereign nation” bullshit and for Congress to abolish all the Indian tribes.
I agree, Dave J. I also find the relatively small population interesting. With just 1300 members, I just have to wonder how many of the tribal members are of 1/32 Shinnecock and 31/32 of “Northern European colonist” descent. Unless there’s been an awful lot of in breeding.
You’ll have noticed that nobody is suing to reclaim Staten Island or Bronxville…
I’m going to have to research ‘exactly Fly, but I think that’s because they already have; at least Manhattan. And got a bigger handful of wampum to go away. There’s also been an ongoing battle in Maine for at least the past 20 years where a tribe wants, like, 3/4 of the state back. Or just compensation.
You know, the English stole my mom’s ancestors castles and land in Scotland back in the day, plus my Irish ancestors were driven from their homes by religious persecutors, so. . .I’m thinking I need a billion or two to make up for it.
It’s only fair.
The Alaskan tribes got truckloads of money for the same thing. I suppose if you got your tribe and a fat bank account, then things are just hunky dory….
Speaking of dories, I’ll bet those same English, disenfranchising OUR Irish ancestors, owe me for a boat or two…I need to make a list. They’re probably responsible for Bingley’s thinning pate too, come to think of it.
Thinning pate, or his beer gut?
Now that you mention it…