Shinnecock Indian Nation
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The Shinnecock Indian Nation is an Algonquian tribe in Southampton (town), New York on the east end of Long Island in the Hamptons.
Many joined the Brothertown Indians in New York and lost their official tribe status. About 150 still remain on the Shinnecock Reservation of 750 acres, 3 miles west of Southampton (village), New York, having intermarried with Negroes until their aboriginal character is almost obliterated.[1]
The tribe, which is recognized by the State of New York, in 2005 filed a lawsuit seeking return of 3,500 acres and billions of dollars in reparations in Southampton (town), New York around the tribe’s reservation. The disputed property includes the Shinnecock Hills Golf Club which they say contains tribe burial grounds.
Chief Nowedonah, brother of Chief Wyandanch of the Montaukett tribe, negotiated a deal in 1641 with English colonists for eight square miles of land in exchange for "sixteen coates and sixty bushels of corn."
The core of the lawsuit is over a 1703 deal between the Southampton and the tribe for a 1,000-year lease. The suit charges that a group of powerful investors conspired to break the lease in 1859, sending the state Legislature a fraudulent petition from a number of Shinnecock tribesmen. Although other tribal members immediately protested that the petition was a forgery, the Legislature approved the sale of 3,500 acres.[2]
The Shinnecock Indian Reservation is a self-governing New York State reservation with a Presbyterian church and a Community Center. It has a pow wow each year over Labor Day weekend.
In December 1876, 28 Shinnecock men died while attempting to save a ship stranded off East Hampton (town), New York
