Starting in February of 2003 the Town of Southampton has appropriated one million dollars for legal expenses and miscellaneous expenditures. The sum of $150,000 was voted on during the Town Board's Dec 15 meeting and this brings the total to between $997,400 and $1,037,900 according to a statement by the Shinnecock Nation available on its web site www.shinnecocknation.com.
The tribe is requesting that those who support their sovereign rights contact their elected officials and tell them to drop the lawsuits opposing the Shinnecock Nation plans.
Messages can be sent to elected officials and media using the links below.
Town of Southampton
Governor Pataki
U.S Congressmen Tim Bishop
Send a “Letter to the editor” – Southampton Press
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News you might have missed from the East End Independent of Dec 15:
Casino Expenses
Supervisor Skip Heaney sponsored a resolution to appropriate funds in the amount of $150,000 to “cover expenses” for the town’s outside council Nixon Peabody LLP. It was expected to be voted on yesterday. The law firm is handling the case of the proposed Shinnecock casino. Federal Justice Thomas C. Platt has been reviewing the records and genealogy of the Shinnecock Indian Nation to determine whether it is eligible to become a federally recognized tribe. Such recognition could entitle members to build and operate a casino on their 79-acre Hampton Bays property known as West Woods. Traditionally, the review process is conducted by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. But to the chagrin of the BIA, Platt decided to speed up the process by reviewing the records himself after discovering it could take the bureau up to 10 years to process the tribe’s federal application. Attorney Michael Cohen, of Nixon Peabody, said that the town and New York State, which also filed suit against the tribe, are acting as co-plaintiffs in this case. Attorney Christopher Lunding is representing the Shinnecock Indians. It has been eight months since the last hearing on the matter, and all parties are waiting for the next court date to be set.
Copyright © 2004 Independent News Co.
