Less than a year ago, the Shinnecock Nation won its decades-long (and very expensive) battle to win federal recognition from the Department of the Interior's Office of Acknowledgement and Research. Many observers initially saw that victory as somewhat "pyrrhic" because of legal challenges mounted by people who had no ostensible vested interest in the matter but nonetheless would not disclose the source of funding to sustain their opposition activity. However, continuing its persistent and dogged drive to secure status clarification, the Nation survived those initial challenges, secured a final decision for tribal recognition in October 2010, and now is shopping for the best possible location for a gaming resort within its historic territory.
The Shinnecock historically occupied one of the most intriguing geographical areas in the country: virtually all of what today is known as Long Island, New York.
While property owners in the lush Hamptons on the island's east end are nervously watching the tribal site identification activity, the current area being considered for casino development seems to be closer to New York City. It includes Suffolk County, Queens, and Riverhead. And the current favorite location appears to be somewhere in heavily-populated Nassau County somewhere near the Nassau Coliseum. The neighboring wealthy population almost certainly would actively oppose gaming anywhere close to that site, and there also is a question of whether the administration and student body of nearby Hofstra University would join the battle.
It is an old adage that nothing is set in concrete. Nonetheless, the Shinnecock leadership is confident that their tribal recognition will not be overturned by any legal challenges to come, and this resolve is underscored by the comments of one tribal leader: "We have waited hundreds of years for recognition, and a few more months more are insignificant to what it would mean for our people." The rejection of any thought that federal recognition is anything less than final is demonstrated by the fact that Nation is spending a great amount of time and money searching for the "perfect place" on which to develop an economic project believed by many to be a surefire success.
Meanwhile, there has been a great deal of speculation as to the identity of the entities or individuals willing to invest a vast amount of money to at least delay the opening of a Shinnecock casino. Tribal leaders have their own short list of "usual suspects" (think Casablanca) but philosophically look forward with the same positive approach to land acquisition that they have demonstrated for so many years. They have come a long way and have a bright future planned for the years to come.
One Shinnecock leader has even privately stated that not even "foreign money" can stop them now.
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