Shinnecock member Courtney Leonard, an artist and filmmaker, holds a "No Trespassing" sign for drivers to see. ANISAH ABDULLAH

Shinnecock residents at the billboard construction site on the southern side of Sunrise Highway, off the eastbound lanes, Saturday. ANISAH ABDULLAH

As a means of protection, Shinnecock residents tied a staff around what has currently been installed of the tribe's billboard project. ANISAH ABDULLAH

"No Trespassing" signs were posted by the Shinnecock Indian Nation at the sites of both billboards being constructed along Sunrise Highway. ANISAH ABDULLAH

Shinnecock Indian Nation residents at the billboard construction site on the southern side of Sunrise Highway, off the eastbound lanes, Saturday. ANISAH ABDULLAH

Shinnecock member Courtney Leonard, an artist and filmmaker, holds a "No Trespassing" sign for drivers to see. ANISAH ABDULLAH

Shinnecock residents at the billboard construction site on the southern side of Sunrise Highway, off the eastbound lanes, Saturday. ANISAH ABDULLAH

As a means of protection, Shinnecock residents tied a staff around what has currently been installed of the tribe's billboard project. ANISAH ABDULLAH

"No Trespassing" signs were posted by the Shinnecock Indian Nation at the sites of both billboards being constructed along Sunrise Highway. ANISAH ABDULLAH

Shinnecock Indian Nation residents at the billboard construction site on the southern side of Sunrise Highway, off the eastbound lanes, Saturday. ANISAH ABDULLAH

UPDATE: Monday, 11 a.m.

Heavy equipment was on site Monday morning as contractors continued construction on the Shinnecock Indian Nation billboards. While work progressed, Shinnecock residents hung out along Sunrise Highway, at the southern site off the eastbound lanes, holding No Trespassing" signs. Some sat in foldable camping chairs while others leaned against their cars parked behind them.

The Nation posted a work permit at the site for its contractor, Idon Media, to conduct all work and bring in heavy equipment.

UPDATE: Saturday, 3 p.m.

Tribal trustees from the Shinnecock Indian Nation said they felt blindsided by the State Department of Transportation in its latest actions to stop the billboard project and are ready to fight this issue in court.

“We did everything in our power to try to work with the town, the DOT and our state,” Council Chairman Bryan Polite said. “We’re very disappointed with the DOT and the lip service that they gave us over the last month and are extremely upset.”

Friday morning, May 17, State Police arrived at the construction site to serve a stop work order against the Nation’s contractor, Idon Media, on behalf of the DOT, trustees said. This was the state agency’s third stop work order it issued since March 30.

So later that day, the Council of Trustees said it met with the DOT’s regional officials at their office in Hauppauge to sort out site plan discrepancies. This was one of several meetings in recent weeks to work together on the project, which trustees said they did “as a courtesy” and not something they needed to do.

But upon returning from the meeting that afternoon, trustees received a cease and desist letter from the DOT’s headquarters in Albany, stating that the project violates federal and state highway laws and that all operations must cease immediately.

Trustees are currently composing a response letter to rebut the assertions made and Mr. Polite said they will likely send it out Saturday afternoon.

“We made it clear to them that we were not propelled to follow any of their guidelines, but that we would, in the interest of working with them, work with them towards doing the project from a safety standpoint, following their standards...and we’ve been having these meetings all along,” Council Vice Chairman Lance A. Gumbs said. “And every time we went to a meeting, they would come back with something else that they wanted. Basically, they were stringing us along.”

They also said the state did not notify them about plans to pursue legal action until reading about it in the article published by the Press Saturday morning.

“Bring it on,” Mr. Polite said as a response to the litigation. “We’ve been prepared for this.”

Germain Smith, the tribe’s general council secretary, said that these oppositions, from government bodies and the public, have “lit a fire” within them to pursue efforts to reacquire other property that they claim the town stole from them over a century ago, which they have sought in the past.

Additionally, in the tribe’s press release sent out Friday evening, it mentioned that U.S. Representative Lee Zeldin had made “false statements” about the Westwoods property where the construction site is located.

Mr. Zeldin’s office said it had simply shared this week that the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs had reported finding no records of the Westwoods land being held in trust. “Enforcement of federal highway law here is in the hands of NYSDOT and New York Attorney General,” Katie Vincentz, a spokesperson to Mr. Zeldin’s office, said in an email.

Tribal Attorney Tela Troge, said the properties are fully owned by the tribe and not held in trust by the federal government, which she said backs up their exemption to highway regulations.

Mr. Polite also pointed out that the bureau’s eastern regional office, which serves the Shinnecock Nation, said it did not have any contact with Mr. Zeldin’s office regarding that information, based on recent email correspondence.

Ms. Vincentz clarified that the congressman’s office was merely relaying information shared with him from the bureau, who Ms. Vincentz said was communicating with its regional department.

“As far as next steps, now that BIA has determined that the land was not held in trust, this issue is at the state level partially to determine, and New York State is researching, whether the ‘Fee’ land is aboriginal land,” Ms. Vincentz said in an email Saturday. “The federal government is not involved in that aspect.”

ORIGINAL STORY:

The State Department of Transportation served the Shinnecock Indian Nation with a cease and desist letter on Friday over the tribe’s billboard construction along Sunrise Highway in Hampton Bays, sparking the beginning of a legal battle that both parties are now preparing for.

The tribe’s Council of Trustees sent a press release that night, saying that the DOT sent the letter “without any legal basis.” Trustees also expressed their indignation toward both the state agency and the Southampton Town government for what they consider to be unfair treatment.

“Today, the New York State Department of Transportation continued an unfortunate and unjust pattern of mistreatment and total disregard for the economic welfare and Sovereignty of the Shinnecock Nation,” the release read.

It continued, “The NYSDOT and Southampton Town Officials have attempted to illegally impose State and Town law on our Sovereign Territory by mischaracterizing a questionable easement that grants limited rights to build and maintain a highway, but never grants ownership rights in the Nation’s land.”

The DOT confirmed that afternoon that it is pursuing litigation with the state attorney general’s office.

“The Department of Transportation, in consultation with the Attorney General’s Office, is reviewing the matter and in the process of taking appropriate legal action,” Glenn Blain, assistant director of communications for the DOT, said in a statement.

Up until now, the state had remained quiet about this matter to the public for weeks while work progressed at the site. But they had been actively communicating with the tribal council during that time.

“With the strength of our ancestors and the blessings of the creator we will fight this injustice, continue our project, uphold our Sovereign rights and protect our Territory,” the release said.

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