Challenges to Shinnecock Nation dismissed

Two challenges to the Shinnecock Indian Nation's bid for federal recognition were dismissed Friday, removing what the Southampton tribe said is the final impediment to its long-awaited status.

"October 1 will live forever in the hearts and minds of the Shinnecock people," senior trustee Lance Gumbs said Friday after leaders were told the challenges to recognition were rejected.

The tribe said it expects a letter from the assistant secretary for the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs confirming the final determination.

The BIA did not return calls to Newsday seeking confirmation that the tribe has now been federally recognized. But Gumbs said tribal lawyers had received word from a top attorney at the Bureau of Indian Affairs that the status had been approved.

"The final determination to acknowledge the Nation is effective immediately as a matter of law," the tribe said in a statement. "With this, we are proud and delighted to announce that the Shinnecock Indian Nation is the 565th federally recognized tribe in the United States."

A splinter faction of the Montaukett Tribe of Long Island and the Connecticut Coalition for Gaming Jobs challenged the tribe's status this summer after the Shinnecocks' quest for federal status was approved by the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Funds, loans, rights at stake

The tribe has waited 32 years for approval, and the objections released waves of anger and frustration on and off the reservation. The status affords the tribe much-needed federal funding and loans for housing, education and health care, and affords the right to open casinos on tribal land. The tribe has said it wants to open up to three casinos on Long Island.

An order released Friday from the Interior Board of Indian Appeals dismissing the two challenges said the groups that had filed them lacked standing.

"Neither the coalition nor Montauk has demonstrated that it has standing to request reconsideration of the final determination, because neither has shown that it has a stake in the outcome to acknowledge the [Shinnecock] Nation as a tribe," Chief Administrative Judge Steven K. Linscheid wrote.

Tribal chairman Randy King expressed elation at the news.

"Holy mackerel, I can't even put it into words," said King, who has led the process through years of progress and stagnation. "I think the judge saw . . . [the challenges] for the charade they were," said King, who credited the tribe's recognition committee and tribal lawyers for the favorable decision.

The Connecticut coalition Friday night released a statement saying, "We will review today's ruling and discuss with our members the appropriate next steps in this process."

Martin Seneca, a Montauk faction lawyer, didn't return calls for comment.

The larger Montauk tribe, led by Chief Robert Pharaoh, had strongly opposed the appeals filing and had filed papers in the case denouncing it. Pharaoh, whose family has led the Montauketts for centuries, said that he was pleased by the decision.

"I'm happy they got it," he said. "It's been a long time. They deserve it. Maybe we'll be next." Pharaoh has filed an application for the Montauketts to win federal recognition on their own.

Mangano eager to talk

Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano, who is negotiating with the tribe to open a casino in Nassau, possibly at Nassau Coliseum, congratulated the tribe, saying, "I look forward to continuing a discussion on how the Nation and county can partner together to create jobs and economic development opportunities in the region."

Morgan Hook, a spokesman for Gov. David A. Paterson, said: "The governor is certainly pleased that the path to full recognition now appears to be clear for the Shinnecock. That recognition is certainly long overdue."

In his ruling, Linscheid explained he dismissed the Connecticut group because it failed to establish that it was a true interested party in the proceedings.

"The Coalition has not identified a single business or individual that is a member of the coalition, and thus has provided us with no basis to find that one or more of its members is an interested party," he wrote.

In tossing the Montauk challenge, the judge said the faction "failed to show how it has a cognizable stake" in the final determination for the Shinnecocks.

"Montauk does not articulate, nor does it provide evidence to demonstrate, how Montauk is or might be adversely affected by the final determination to acknowledge the Nation as a tribe," the judge wrote.

Shinnecock financial backers Mike Malik and Marian Illitch, partners in Detroit-based Gateway Casino Resorts, which will work with the tribe on casinos, released a statement congratulating the tribe. "Today's ruling that the challenges to the Nation's recognition were frivolous and without merit reaffirms what we all knew to be true," they said. "We look forward to working with the Shinnecock Nation as they explore their new economic opportunities."

Q&A

What's next for the Shinnecocks once they have full federal recognition as a tribe?

The most immediate thing they can do is apply for federal assistance and funds in areas including health care, housing and education. The tribe has one building on its reservation devoted to basic health care but would like to add a dialysis center. Federal money may be available.

Federally backed loans and grants may also now be available to improve the generally low quality of housing on the reservation. Previously the tribe has had trouble getting bank loans to buy and improve homes because reservation land could not be foreclosed upon.

Tribal leaders have said they are interested in opening their own school on the reservation - and federal funds could be available, though it is not clear when or how much. Most Shinnecock children attend Southampton public schools. The tribe has also floated the idea of a tribal college on the grounds of the former site of Southampton College.

And the big question of opening a casino?

By law, the Shinnecocks can almost immediately open a Class II casino on their reservation that would be limited to video lottery terminals. A Class III casino with slot machines, roulette wheels and table games such as poker and blackjack could be built only off the reservation and would face multiple hurdles to gain approval in a process that could take years. Numerous sites have been proposed, from Calverton to Belmont racetrack to the Catskills.

How will the recognition affect the tribe's land claims?

Some tribal leaders believe they can leverage land claims to win hard-to-gain approval for an off-reservation casino. The tribe has a claim for 3,600 acres in Southampton - land that includes the famed Shinnecock Hills golf course and the National Golf Links of America.