Post by blackcrowheart on Jul 3, 2008 13:09:30 GMT -5
Shinnecocks are pushing to protect sacred sites J
[Tribe member Rebecca Genia explained that the Shinnecocks buried their
chiefs at the highest points in the town and always facing east.] Tribe
member Rebecca Genia explained that the Shinnecocks buried their chiefs
at the highest points in the town and always facing east. view more
photos
Standing atop Sugarloaf Hills, the highest summit in Southampton Town,
Rebecca Genia of the Shinnecock Indian Nation looks to the east and
states: "This is our most sacred site."
The reason for this, Ms. Genia explains, is that her ancestors buried
their sachems, or chiefs, at the highest points in the town and always
facing east. "This was so the sunrise could greet them on their
journey to the spirit world," she notes.
In fact, Ms. Genia says Sugarloaf Hills derives its name from the white
sand that the Shinnecocks would use to raise the burial grounds even
higher. When the Europeans arrived in Southampton in the mid-17th
century, they observed that the white sand resembled sugar.
Arguing that the graves of her ancestors have been desecrated and
disrespected by development throughout Southampton Town, Ms. Genia, for
years an activist regarding issues affecting the tribe, is now pushing
to get the Town Board to halt further development on sacred Shinnecock
sites. "All we are asking for is justice," Ms. Genia says.
"No one's grave should be disturbed."
Town Supervisor Linda Kabot recently had the official Shinnecock Seal
placed at Town Hall, a sign that her administration is interested in not
only recognizing the Shinnecocks but working with them to address their
needs—a significant change from recent years, when interaction
between the tribe and town was mostly limited to court appearances. The
supervisor notes that she respects Ms. Genia's beliefs and
emphasizes that her requests "have not fallen on deaf ears."
Ms. Genia says she believes that Ms. Kabot is acting in good faith, but
adds that she is hoping for Town Board action to back it up—such as
the purchase of 9.3 acres along Montauk Highway in Water Mill, the site
of the former St. James Hotel. In November 2006, a 1,000-year-old skull,
believed to be the remains of a Native American boy, was discovered
during a state-mandated archeological dig. That find halted development
on the site, and Greg Konner, the property's owner, agreed to forego
his development plans and sell his property to the town.
Ms. Genia says it was customary for her people to bury family together.
"Because he was a young boy, it's only logical that there are
other remains there," she adds. The Shinnecocks believe that an
ancient fishing village, dating back thousands of years, was located on
the property as well.
Though a last-minute legal entanglement has prevented the town from
purchasing Mr. Konner's property, Ms. Kabot says the municipality is
poised to buy the 9.3 acres with Community Preservation Fund money. The
town is expected to spend $5 million to buy and preserve the property.
Ms. Kabot notes that since she took office in January, there has been a
thaw in the relationship between the town and the tribe—a chilling
effect blamed largely on the tribe's push to open a casino on the
East End, and the legal battles that ensued as the town fought to stop
it. "We can reach out to each other before something becomes a
crisis," Ms. Kabot said. "I certainly respect and understand
their desires to protect the graves of their ancestors."
Though one homeowner now residing in Sugarloaf Hills has dismissed
claims that several houses in Shinnecock Hills sit above the most
hallowed of Shinnecock ground, a local expert on Long Island's
indigenous people not only supports Ms. Genia's claim but takes it
one step further.
"It's not just one of the most significant sites in Southampton,
it's one of the most important burial sites in the State of New
York," says Dr. John Strong, former professor emeritus at Long
Island University's Southampton College, now Stony Brook
Southampton.
Dr. Strong, the author of three books on Long Island's Native
Americans, says the "orient burial pattern" was first uncovered
in the 1930s by Roy Latham, a North Fork archeologist. "This pattern
began in Orient Point, ran through Jamesport and up to Sugarloaf,"
Dr. Strong says.
In 1959, William Ritchie, a state archeologist who studied Mr.
Latham's work, published "Stony Brook Site: Its Relation To
Archaic and Transitional Cultures on Long Island," which, according
to Dr. Strong, validated the burial pattern.
"These burial sites are well documented," he says. "Not only
that, the Shinnecocks' genealogy is one of the most well documented
of any tribe in the country." This is because, Dr. Strong says, the
tribe has been filing its elections with the town clerk's office
since 1792.
What makes the Sugarloaf Hills site even more special to Ms. Genia is
her belief that the last chiefs with Algonquian names are interred on
the grounds. "After the Europeans landed, my people adopted
Christian names," she explains.
Chief Munguntucksee, and his sons, Wyandance, Nowedanah and Mommeweto,
are all buried in Sugarloaf Hills, according to Ms. Genia. Algonquian is
the root of the Shinnecock native tongue, Dr. Strong says, similar to
Latin being the root for Italian, Spanish and French.
Ms. Genia asserts, and Dr. Strong concurs, that Shinnecock ancestors are
buried all over the East End and, in particular, in Southampton Town.
The 62-acre Parrish Pond subdivision is another parcel that Ms. Genia
says is sacred to her tribe. In 2004, this site was embroiled in a
lawsuit stemming from the discovery of a Native American skull by a
worker near Montauk Highway and Tuckahoe Road. Shinnecock activists,
including Ms. Genia, tried to prevent the property from being developed,
but ultimately failed. The state courts ruled that the development could
go ahead, though they did set aside about one third of an acre based
upon evidence presented by the Shinnecocks that it contained ancestral
remains.
Ms. Genia explains that the site was used by her people to make wampum,
beads from local clam shells used as an ancient form of currency and
jewelry. "There are now 37 luxury homes on this site," she says,
"And all we got was 0.3 acre."
But, in Ms. Genia's opinion, the most egregious desecration is the
Shinnecock Hills Golf Course, a property that she says runs across
countless tribal remains. "This is the playground for the rich and
famous," she says. "But when you play golf, you should know that
you are walking across the remains of our ancestors."
What upsets Ms. Genia the most is that the golf course was constructed
in the 1890s—utilizing Shinnecock laborers.
The effort to protect sacred Native American sites is not confined to
Southampton Town. Ms. Genia says the movement is afoot nationwide. On
June 10, the Shinnecock Indian Nation hosted "Honoring Sacred
Places," an Inter-Tribal Historic Preservation Task Force symposium
at Southampton High School. The invited speakers included Ruben Valdez
of the Shinnecock Indian Nation, Chief Harry B. Wallace of the Unkechaug
Indian Nation in Mastic, and brothers Vic and Posh Camp of the Lakota
Indian Nation, who made the trip from South Dakota.
"It is shameful to desecrate our graves," said Chief Wallace who
then quoted the famous Chief Seattle, who lived in what is now the state
of Washington. "When we walk upon the Earth, we walk upon the ashes
of our grandfathers. Whatever befalls Mother Earth befalls men. If you
spit on the ground, you spit on yourself."
Posh Camp spoke about Mato-Paha, or Bear-Butte, the most sacred of all
mountains, a mecca for Native Americans that is nestled in the Black
Hills of South Dakota. For thousands of years Native Americans have gone
to Mato-Paha, Mr. Camp said, for "vision quests" and to collect
medicines and pray.
In 2006, a massive biker bar was built in sight of the sacred mountain.
Originally called "Sacred Grounds," plans for the bar included
an 80-foot-tall wooden Indian statue facing the mountain. Mr. Camp said
his people were able to stop the developer from using the name
"Sacred Grounds" and from erecting the wooden statue. However,
they could not prevent the construction of the bar.
"The bar is full of drunkenness and nakedness, and it is next to our
most holy site," Mr. Camp said. "All we wanted was a reasonable
buffer zone. You would never see a bar like that built next to a church
or temple.
"Despite all our people who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces to
protect this beautiful land, we still have to fight for our sacred
sites," he continued.
Mr. Camp's brother, Vic, explained that Native Americans
"don't pray in buildings. Most people don't understand that.
We pray outside, to the wind, to the stars." He added: "Mother
Earth is sacred. She is tired of being stepped on. We see signs all
across the planet that she is cleansing herself."
Speaking for the Shinnecocks, Mr. Valdez said development on the East
End has gone from the basic sustenance of providing for one's family
to greed. "The great American ideal of working hard for one's
family has been abused," he said. "The subdivision process is
the worst enemy of this town. The land is getting cut up in smaller and
smaller pieces, and those developments are disturbing our sacred burial
sites."
In his opinion, the developer mindset is crippling the town's
future. "We need to start focusing on what's best for Mother
Earth," Mr. Valdez said. "Some developments in this town are
crimes against the planet and acts of war against my ancestors."
Elizabeth Thunderbird Haile, Ms. Genia's mother and a Shinnecock
tribal elder, agrees that greed drives much of the development that is
disrupting the peaceful rest of her ancestors. "It's not about
need or about surviving," Ms. Haile says. "There's no
balance."
Ms. Genia notes that when the Europeans came ashore in 1640, her people
welcomed them and provided them with food and shelter. Now, she says,
they would like for the ancestors of those Europeans to extend them a
similar courtesy.
"We have always been a peaceful people living in harmony with Mother
Earth," she says. "We've given and given. And now all we
want is for the graves of our ancestors to be protected."
[Tribe member Rebecca Genia explained that the Shinnecocks buried their
chiefs at the highest points in the town and always facing east.] Tribe
member Rebecca Genia explained that the Shinnecocks buried their chiefs
at the highest points in the town and always facing east. view more
photos
Standing atop Sugarloaf Hills, the highest summit in Southampton Town,
Rebecca Genia of the Shinnecock Indian Nation looks to the east and
states: "This is our most sacred site."
The reason for this, Ms. Genia explains, is that her ancestors buried
their sachems, or chiefs, at the highest points in the town and always
facing east. "This was so the sunrise could greet them on their
journey to the spirit world," she notes.
In fact, Ms. Genia says Sugarloaf Hills derives its name from the white
sand that the Shinnecocks would use to raise the burial grounds even
higher. When the Europeans arrived in Southampton in the mid-17th
century, they observed that the white sand resembled sugar.
Arguing that the graves of her ancestors have been desecrated and
disrespected by development throughout Southampton Town, Ms. Genia, for
years an activist regarding issues affecting the tribe, is now pushing
to get the Town Board to halt further development on sacred Shinnecock
sites. "All we are asking for is justice," Ms. Genia says.
"No one's grave should be disturbed."
Town Supervisor Linda Kabot recently had the official Shinnecock Seal
placed at Town Hall, a sign that her administration is interested in not
only recognizing the Shinnecocks but working with them to address their
needs—a significant change from recent years, when interaction
between the tribe and town was mostly limited to court appearances. The
supervisor notes that she respects Ms. Genia's beliefs and
emphasizes that her requests "have not fallen on deaf ears."
Ms. Genia says she believes that Ms. Kabot is acting in good faith, but
adds that she is hoping for Town Board action to back it up—such as
the purchase of 9.3 acres along Montauk Highway in Water Mill, the site
of the former St. James Hotel. In November 2006, a 1,000-year-old skull,
believed to be the remains of a Native American boy, was discovered
during a state-mandated archeological dig. That find halted development
on the site, and Greg Konner, the property's owner, agreed to forego
his development plans and sell his property to the town.
Ms. Genia says it was customary for her people to bury family together.
"Because he was a young boy, it's only logical that there are
other remains there," she adds. The Shinnecocks believe that an
ancient fishing village, dating back thousands of years, was located on
the property as well.
Though a last-minute legal entanglement has prevented the town from
purchasing Mr. Konner's property, Ms. Kabot says the municipality is
poised to buy the 9.3 acres with Community Preservation Fund money. The
town is expected to spend $5 million to buy and preserve the property.
Ms. Kabot notes that since she took office in January, there has been a
thaw in the relationship between the town and the tribe—a chilling
effect blamed largely on the tribe's push to open a casino on the
East End, and the legal battles that ensued as the town fought to stop
it. "We can reach out to each other before something becomes a
crisis," Ms. Kabot said. "I certainly respect and understand
their desires to protect the graves of their ancestors."
Though one homeowner now residing in Sugarloaf Hills has dismissed
claims that several houses in Shinnecock Hills sit above the most
hallowed of Shinnecock ground, a local expert on Long Island's
indigenous people not only supports Ms. Genia's claim but takes it
one step further.
"It's not just one of the most significant sites in Southampton,
it's one of the most important burial sites in the State of New
York," says Dr. John Strong, former professor emeritus at Long
Island University's Southampton College, now Stony Brook
Southampton.
Dr. Strong, the author of three books on Long Island's Native
Americans, says the "orient burial pattern" was first uncovered
in the 1930s by Roy Latham, a North Fork archeologist. "This pattern
began in Orient Point, ran through Jamesport and up to Sugarloaf,"
Dr. Strong says.
In 1959, William Ritchie, a state archeologist who studied Mr.
Latham's work, published "Stony Brook Site: Its Relation To
Archaic and Transitional Cultures on Long Island," which, according
to Dr. Strong, validated the burial pattern.
"These burial sites are well documented," he says. "Not only
that, the Shinnecocks' genealogy is one of the most well documented
of any tribe in the country." This is because, Dr. Strong says, the
tribe has been filing its elections with the town clerk's office
since 1792.
What makes the Sugarloaf Hills site even more special to Ms. Genia is
her belief that the last chiefs with Algonquian names are interred on
the grounds. "After the Europeans landed, my people adopted
Christian names," she explains.
Chief Munguntucksee, and his sons, Wyandance, Nowedanah and Mommeweto,
are all buried in Sugarloaf Hills, according to Ms. Genia. Algonquian is
the root of the Shinnecock native tongue, Dr. Strong says, similar to
Latin being the root for Italian, Spanish and French.
Ms. Genia asserts, and Dr. Strong concurs, that Shinnecock ancestors are
buried all over the East End and, in particular, in Southampton Town.
The 62-acre Parrish Pond subdivision is another parcel that Ms. Genia
says is sacred to her tribe. In 2004, this site was embroiled in a
lawsuit stemming from the discovery of a Native American skull by a
worker near Montauk Highway and Tuckahoe Road. Shinnecock activists,
including Ms. Genia, tried to prevent the property from being developed,
but ultimately failed. The state courts ruled that the development could
go ahead, though they did set aside about one third of an acre based
upon evidence presented by the Shinnecocks that it contained ancestral
remains.
Ms. Genia explains that the site was used by her people to make wampum,
beads from local clam shells used as an ancient form of currency and
jewelry. "There are now 37 luxury homes on this site," she says,
"And all we got was 0.3 acre."
But, in Ms. Genia's opinion, the most egregious desecration is the
Shinnecock Hills Golf Course, a property that she says runs across
countless tribal remains. "This is the playground for the rich and
famous," she says. "But when you play golf, you should know that
you are walking across the remains of our ancestors."
What upsets Ms. Genia the most is that the golf course was constructed
in the 1890s—utilizing Shinnecock laborers.
The effort to protect sacred Native American sites is not confined to
Southampton Town. Ms. Genia says the movement is afoot nationwide. On
June 10, the Shinnecock Indian Nation hosted "Honoring Sacred
Places," an Inter-Tribal Historic Preservation Task Force symposium
at Southampton High School. The invited speakers included Ruben Valdez
of the Shinnecock Indian Nation, Chief Harry B. Wallace of the Unkechaug
Indian Nation in Mastic, and brothers Vic and Posh Camp of the Lakota
Indian Nation, who made the trip from South Dakota.
"It is shameful to desecrate our graves," said Chief Wallace who
then quoted the famous Chief Seattle, who lived in what is now the state
of Washington. "When we walk upon the Earth, we walk upon the ashes
of our grandfathers. Whatever befalls Mother Earth befalls men. If you
spit on the ground, you spit on yourself."
Posh Camp spoke about Mato-Paha, or Bear-Butte, the most sacred of all
mountains, a mecca for Native Americans that is nestled in the Black
Hills of South Dakota. For thousands of years Native Americans have gone
to Mato-Paha, Mr. Camp said, for "vision quests" and to collect
medicines and pray.
In 2006, a massive biker bar was built in sight of the sacred mountain.
Originally called "Sacred Grounds," plans for the bar included
an 80-foot-tall wooden Indian statue facing the mountain. Mr. Camp said
his people were able to stop the developer from using the name
"Sacred Grounds" and from erecting the wooden statue. However,
they could not prevent the construction of the bar.
"The bar is full of drunkenness and nakedness, and it is next to our
most holy site," Mr. Camp said. "All we wanted was a reasonable
buffer zone. You would never see a bar like that built next to a church
or temple.
"Despite all our people who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces to
protect this beautiful land, we still have to fight for our sacred
sites," he continued.
Mr. Camp's brother, Vic, explained that Native Americans
"don't pray in buildings. Most people don't understand that.
We pray outside, to the wind, to the stars." He added: "Mother
Earth is sacred. She is tired of being stepped on. We see signs all
across the planet that she is cleansing herself."
Speaking for the Shinnecocks, Mr. Valdez said development on the East
End has gone from the basic sustenance of providing for one's family
to greed. "The great American ideal of working hard for one's
family has been abused," he said. "The subdivision process is
the worst enemy of this town. The land is getting cut up in smaller and
smaller pieces, and those developments are disturbing our sacred burial
sites."
In his opinion, the developer mindset is crippling the town's
future. "We need to start focusing on what's best for Mother
Earth," Mr. Valdez said. "Some developments in this town are
crimes against the planet and acts of war against my ancestors."
Elizabeth Thunderbird Haile, Ms. Genia's mother and a Shinnecock
tribal elder, agrees that greed drives much of the development that is
disrupting the peaceful rest of her ancestors. "It's not about
need or about surviving," Ms. Haile says. "There's no
balance."
Ms. Genia notes that when the Europeans came ashore in 1640, her people
welcomed them and provided them with food and shelter. Now, she says,
they would like for the ancestors of those Europeans to extend them a
similar courtesy.
"We have always been a peaceful people living in harmony with Mother
Earth," she says. "We've given and given. And now all we
want is for the graves of our ancestors to be protected."