Letters

Mark Schulte’s letter, “Worth the Candle” [July 24], represents exactly the hostile attitude that we pointed out in our letter to the editor in the June 16 edition [“Hostile Attitudes”]. It represents a complete lack of empathy, a rejection of any legitimate claims by the Shinnecock Nation, and is one that clearly comes from a noncooperative and adversarial position. The negative tone of his first sentence reverberates throughout.

A full response to his many inaccurate statements would not fit the 450-word limit. But there was nothing questionable about federal recognition that was finally awarded to the Shinnecock Nation in 2010. As a matter of fact, it should have been awarded a good deal sooner.

The request that the Shinnecock seal be removed from the wall of Southampton Town Hall was not only because of the recent dispute, which was settled by the federal government’s declaration that Westwoods is and always has been sovereign Shinnecock territory. The chairman of the Tribal Council, Lisa Goree, had twice written to the Southampton Town Board requesting that it be removed.

As Vice Chairman Lance Gumbs said in the meeting at Southampton Town Hall, not just this once but many times over the past 400 years Southampton Town has done everything it could to thwart the success of the Shinnecock Nation and indeed has made it harder for them to survive. (See our letter for a summary of his statement.)

In addition, the Shinnecock people were driven by the colonists out of their own territory and onto the wetlands (the “Neck”), which, because of the extreme dampness of where they are forced to live, caused many to suffer from ongoing health problems. Conditions on the Neck also contribute to the severe damage done to their homes (several of which are now being renovated by Hamptons Community Outreach, in order that at least some of the Shinnecock people need no longer live in substandard housing).

As for the 1640 Deed of Purchase, the English and the Dutch were both trying to control the fur trade and in their land grab made deals with allies of various tribes. These treaties, like those with all the other Native American tribes, were violated by the criminality of the colonists who defrauded them of their land.

Schulte’s letter not only misrepresents this and other issues he mentions, it ignores centuries of subsequent mistreatment. The distortion of this history reflects the tragic state of our current political environment and obstructs any path forward.

We hope this can change through respectful dialogue and a greater understanding of our past and its ramifications in the present.

Heidi Rain

Tom Oleszczuk

Sag Harbor