
The Montauk Point land claim was a series of three lawsuits brought by Chief Wyandank Pharaoh, nephew of the
Stephen Talkhouse who died in the same year (1879) that the tribe lost the last remaining vestige of their territory in the
New York state courts
The Judiciary of New York (officially the New York State Unified Court System) is the judicial branch of the Government of New York, comprising all the courts of the State of New York (excluding extrajudicial administrative courts).
The Court ...
, claiming
Montauk Point
Montauk ( ) is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in East Hampton and Suffolk County, New York, on the eastern end of the South Shore of Long Island. As of the 2020 United States census, the CDP's population was 4,318.
The CDP encomp ...
on behalf of the
Montaukett
The Montaukett (" Metoac"), more commonly known as Montauk, are an Algonquian-speaking Native American people from the eastern and central sections of Long Island, New York, United States.
Name
The exact meaning of the name Montauk is unkn ...
Indians, against the
Long Island Rail Road
The Long Island Rail Road , or LIRR, is a Rail transport, railroad in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, stretching from Manhattan to the eastern tip of Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County on Long Islan ...
(LIRR) and its predecessors in title.
The first suit, ''Montauk Tribe of Indians v. Long Island R.R. Co.'', brought by Wyandank Pharaoh in the name of the tribe, was dismissed because the tribe had not been explicitly authorized by the state to sue in its own name.
As recommended by the Appellate Division's opinion, the second suit, ''Johnson v. Long Island R.R. Co.'', was brought in the name of Eugene A. Johnson, a citizen and tribal member. The New York Court of Appeals disavowed the previous dicta of the Appellate Division, and held that neither an individual Indian nor a tribe could sue in court without enabling legislation.
The tribe failed in its efforts to convince the federal government to pass legislation enabling the tribe to bring the claim in federal court. In 1906, the state passed a statute enabling the tribe to sue, and Wyandank Pharaoh brought a third suit, ''Pharaoh v. Benson'', in the name of the tribe. Reaching the merits, the New York courts held that the tribe no longer existed and that the transactions were valid.
Since the litigation, the Montauks have failed in their efforts to obtain compensation from the federal and state government, and much of the land in question has come to be held by public parks.
Background

Circa 1875, the Montauk tribe began renting out Montauk Point for pasturage through the
Proprietors' Company; the company took possession of the grazing allotments, and paid the tribe an annuity.
Circa 1880, the shareholders of the company disagreed over whether the lands should continue to be leased, or whether they should be re-apportioned.
In 1878,
Robert M. Grinnell sued Edward M. Baker et al. for partition and division of the allotments. In ''Grinnell v. Baker'' (unreported), the court ordered the lands sold at public auction (subject to the Montauk claim), with the proceeds distributed equally among the non-Indian lessees, rather than the Montauk tribe.
The auction took place at the home of
Jehial Parsons.
[John A. Strong & Philip Wyppensenwah-Rabito, More on How Montauk Was Parceled Out, ''New York Times'' letter to the editor, at LI11.] Arthur W. Benson bought the at auction for $151,000 in 1879.
In turn, Benson sold of the land to the
Long Island Rail Road
The Long Island Rail Road , or LIRR, is a Rail transport, railroad in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, stretching from Manhattan to the eastern tip of Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County on Long Islan ...
for $600,000.
Benson hired
Nathaniel Dominey to negotiate the removal of the Montauks still living on the reservation.
At a later, Senate Sub-Committee hearing, Dominey testified that eight Indians remained on the reservation at the time, including: future Chief Wyandank Pharaoh (10 years old at the time), his mother, and two of her brothers.
Later, Dominey experienced a change of heart and cooperated with the Montauks in their claim, and turning over his letters from Benson.
Dominey testified that he compensated Wyandank Pharaoh's mother with a $100 semi-annual annuity and two houses, to be inherited by Pharaoh, $80 each to her two brothers, and $10 to Wyandank.
Arthur Benson had viewed Montauk as "his private playground"; after his death, his son approached
Austin Corbin
Austin Corbin (July 11, 1827 – June 4, 1896) was a 19th-century American banking and railroad entrepreneur. He consolidated the rail lines on Long Island, bringing them under the profitable umbrella of the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR).
He was ...
, President and controlling shareholder of the
Long Island Rail Road
The Long Island Rail Road , or LIRR, is a Rail transport, railroad in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, stretching from Manhattan to the eastern tip of Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County on Long Islan ...
, and
Charles Pratt
Charles Pratt (October 2, 1830 – May 4, 1891) was an American businessman. Pratt was a pioneer of the U.S. petroleum industry, and he established his kerosene refinery Astral Oil Works in Brooklyn, New York. He then lived with his growing fam ...
, of
Standard Oil
Standard Oil Company was a Trust (business), corporate trust in the petroleum industry that existed from 1882 to 1911. The origins of the trust lay in the operations of the Standard Oil of Ohio, Standard Oil Company (Ohio), which had been founde ...
, about the possibility of voiding his fathers will and opening Montauk to development.
Montauk Point was purchased by Corbin and Pratt in 1895.
On October 30, 1895, Chief Wyandank Pharaoh returned from a research trip to Brooklyn and Washington, D.C. to gather evidence to pursue a claim.
[Montauks to Make a Test Case, ''New York Times'', Oct. 30, 1895, at 1.] Pharaoh declared his intentions to undertake a hunting trip on the disputed land and initiate a lawsuit if he was interfered with.
The ''New York Times'' blamed Chief Pharaoh for the dispute:
If King Wyandank Pharaoh of the Montauk Tribe of Indians had not given for $10 the living members of the Montauk tribe might now be wealthy, instead of being poor and fighting for their rights with a desperate hope of regaining at least part of what they claim to be their lawful heritage.[Indians Claim Lands, ''New York Times'', Sept. 23, 1900, at 15.]
''Montauk Tribe of Indians v. Long Island R.R. Co.'' (App. Div. 1898)
Supreme Court

Chief Wyandank Pharaoh, on behalf of the tribe, filed suit, stating a cause of action for
ejectment
Ejectment is a common law term for civil action to recover the possession of or title to land. It replaced the old real actions and the various possessory assizes (denoting county-based pleas to local sittings of the courts) where boundary dispu ...
on February 5, 1897.
For proof of tribal status, the tribe cited a partition action decided by Judge Dykman and the
1890 United States census
The 1890 United States census was taken beginning June 2, 1890. The census determined the resident population of the United States to be 62,979,766, an increase of 25.5 percent over the 50,189,209 persons enumerated during the 1880 United States ...
.
The complaint valued the land at approximately $300,000.
On June 5, 1897, Judge
Wilmot Moses Smith of the
New York Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the superior court in the Judiciary of New York. It is vested with unlimited civil and criminal jurisdiction, although in many counties outside New York City it acts primarily as a court of civil ju ...
set a hearing date for June 19 in
Patchogue to hear the oral arguments for the defendants'
demurrer
A demurrer is a pleading in a lawsuit that objects to or challenges a pleading filed by an opposing party. The word ''demur'' means "to object"; a ''demurrer'' is the document that makes the objection. Lawyers informally define a demurrer as a ...
. The matter was transferred to Judge
Samuel T. Maddox in Brooklyn.
Judge Maddox granted the demurrer, dismissing the action but allowing the tribe to re-plead if they paid costs.
Appellate Division
The Montauk's, represented by ex-judge
George M. Curtis, filed a notice of appeal on December 22, 1897.
[Indians Want the Land, ''New York Times'', Dec. 22, 1897, at 1.] Before the Appellate Division, the Montauk's case was argued by
Leman B. Treadwell
Leman may refer to:
People
* Leman (surname)
* Leman baronets, County of Hertford, England
* Leman Altınçekiç (1932–2001), first female jet pilot in Turkey
* Leman Bozacıoğlu (fl. 2006–2016), Turkish female football referee
Places
* Lém ...
, with
Francis M. Morrison
Francis may refer to:
People and characters
*Pope Francis, head of the Catholic Church (2013–2025)
*Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
* Francis (surname)
* Francis, a character played by YouTuber Boogie2 ...
(both Boston lawyers
) also on the brief.
[''Montauk Tribe of Indians v. Long Island R.R. Co.'', 51 N.Y.S. 142 (App. Div. 1898).] Alfred A. Gardner argued on behalf of the LIRR, with
William J. Kelly on the brief.
The Appellate Division panel consisted of Judges Goodrich,
Edgar M. Cullen
Edgar Montgomery Cullen (1843 – 1922) was an American lawyer, judge, and politician from the state of New York. Cullen is best remembered as the Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals from 1904 to 1913.
Biography
Early years
Edgar Mont ...
,
Willard Bartlett, Hatch, and Woodward.
The Appellate Division of the Second Department unanimously affirmed the judgment of the Suffolk Special Term on April 19, 1898.
[Legal Notes: Rights of Indian Tribes, ''New York Times'', Apr. 29, 1900, at 16.] Citing ''
Strong v. Waterman
Strong may refer to:
Education
* The Strong, an educational institution in Rochester, New York, United States
* Strong Hall (Lawrence, Kansas), an administrative hall of the University of Kansas
* Strong School, New Haven, Connecticut, United St ...
'' and ''
Seneca Nation of Indians v. Christy
''Seneca Nation of Indians v. Christy'', 162 U.S. 283 (1896), was the first litigation of aboriginal title in the United States by a tribal plaintiff in the Supreme Court of the United States since '' Cherokee Nation v. Georgia'' (1831). It was ...
'', Judge Cullen noted that "no provision had been made by law for bringing ejectment to recover possession of
ndians and "as a body or tribe, the Indians have no corporate name by which they can institute such a suit."
Judge Cullen suggested that the tribe either petition the legislature for enabling legislation to allow them to sue as a tribe, or have individual members bring the suit.
''Johnson v. Long Island R.R. Co.'' (N.Y. 1900)
Supreme Court
Eugene A. Johnson, a U.S. citizen of Montauk descent, and a member of the tribe since birth, brought a similar suit in his own name, on behalf of himself and other similarly interested.
The Special Term sustained a demurrer.
Appellate Division
The divided panel of the Appellate Division of the Second Department reversed on July 1, 1899.
[''Johnson v. Long Island R.R. Co.'', 61 N.Y.S. 1139 (App. Div. 1899) (per curiam), rev'd, 56 N.E. 992 (N.Y. 1900).] In a
per curiam
In law, a ''per curiam'' decision or opinion (sometimes called an unsigned opinion) is one that is not authored by or attributed to a specific judge, but rather ascribed to the entire court or panel of judges who heard the case. The term is La ...
opinion, joined by all but Judge
Willard Bartlett, the Appellate Division held:
While the right to maintain this action in its present form is not free from doubt, still, as it is brought in accordance with the view expressed by us on the prior appeal, we think we should adhere to our former decision, and allow the question to be finally determined by the court of appeals.
Court of Appeals
The Appellate Division certified three questions to the Court of Appeals:
1. Has the plaintiff in this action legal capacity to sue?
2. Is there a defect of the parties plaintiff in this action, in that the members of the alleged Montauk Tribe of Indians are not made parties plaintiff?
3. Does the complaint herein state facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action?
Before the Court of Appeals, Treadwell and Morrison again argued for the Montauks, while Gardner and Kelly again argued for the LIRR.
The
New York Court of Appeals
The New York Court of Appeals is the supreme court, highest court in the Judiciary of New York (state), Unified Court System of the New York (state), State of New York. It consists of seven judges: the Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeal ...
reversed the Appellate Division, and affirmed the Special Term, on April 17, 1900.
The court answered all three certified questions in the negative, without costs to either party. Judge
Edward T. Bartlett, joined by Judges
Denis O'Brien
Denis O'Brien (born 19 April 1958) is an Irish billionaire businessman, and the founder and owner of Digicel. He was listed among the World's Top 200 Billionaires in 2015 and was Ireland's richest native-born citizen for several years. His bus ...
,
Albert Haight
Albert Haight (February 20, 1842 – October 1926) was an American lawyer and politician from New York.
Life
He was born on February 20, 1842, in Ellicottville, Cattaraugus County, New York, the son of Henry Haight (born c. 1815) and Sarah Maria ...
, and
Celora E. Martin
Celora Eaton Martin (March 23, 1834 – September 10, 1909) was an American lawyer and politician from New York (state), New York.
Life
He was born on March 23, 1834, in Newport (town), New York, Newport, Herkimer County, New York, the son of ...
, held that Johnson had no capacity to bring a suit on the tribe's behalf.
The Court held that Indians, as wards of the state, had no right to sue unless conferred by statute:
A decision holding that this action could be maintained either by the tribe, or an individual member thereof on behalf of himself and all others who should come in and contribute, would be contrary to the policy and practice which have been long established in our treatment of the Indian tribes. They are regarded as the wards of the state, and, generally speaking, possessed of only such rights to appear and litigate in courts of justice as are conferred upon them by statute.
Chief Judge
Alton B. Parker
Alton Brooks Parker (May 14, 1852 – May 10, 1926) was an American judge. He was the Democratic nominee in the 1904 United States presidential election, losing in a landslide to incumbent Republican Theodore Roosevelt.
A native of upstate New ...
concurred in the result, without separate opinion; Judges
Irving G. Vann and Landon dissented, without opinion.
Senate Indian Affairs Sub-Committee hearing (1900)

Chief Pharaoh, along with representatives of the
Shinnecock Tribe,
Narragansett Tribe
The Narragansett people are an Algonquian American Indian tribe from Rhode Island. Today, Narragansett people are enrolled in the federally recognized Narragansett Indian Tribe. They gained federal recognition in 1983.
The tribe was nearly la ...
, and
Mohegan Tribe
The Mohegan Tribe ( ) is a federally recognized Native American tribe and sovereign tribal nation based in Uncasville, Connecticut. Historically part of the Pequot people, the Mohegan emerged as a distinct group in the 17th century under the lead ...
, testified before a Sub-Committee of the
Senate Indian Affairs Committee
The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs is a committee of the United States Senate charged with oversight in matters related to the American Indian, Native Hawaiian, and Alaska Native peoples. A Committee on Indian Affairs existed from 1820 to 1 ...
on September 22, 1900, at the
Fifth Avenue Hotel
The Fifth Avenue Hotel was a luxury hotel located in Manhattan, New York City from 1859 to 1908. It had an entire block of frontage between 23rd Street and 24th Street, at the southwest corner of Madison Square.
Site and construction ...
.
The Sub-Committee consisted of Senators
John M. Thurston (R-NE) and
Orville H. Platt (R-CT).
In addition to Pharaoh, the testifying Indians were: Rev. Eugene A. Johnson, Nathan J. Cuffee, and James Cuffee (of the Montauk Council), John Noka, Joshua Noka, and Donald Seeter (of the Narragansett Council), David Kellis (of the Shinnecock Council).
Maria Crippen and Dr. William H. Johnson of the Montauk tribe were among the spectators.
Rev. Johnson testified that there were 300 living members of the Montauk tribe.
Johnson also testified that the New York state legislature had denied the Montauks a hearing because they were not "persons."
Johnson argued that the Montauks could not alienate property without the consent of both New York and the federal government.
He valued the disputed property at $3,000,000.
The tribes requested special legislation to allow them to bring their land claims, for fraud, in the
United States circuit court
The United States circuit courts were the intermediate level courts of the United States federal court system from 1789 until 1912. They were established by the Judiciary Act of 1789, and had trial court jurisdiction over civil suits of diversit ...
.
The Montauks and Shinnecocks claimed of Montauk Point; the Narragansetts an eight-square-mile tract near
Narragansett Bay
Narragansett Bay is a bay and estuary on the north side of Rhode Island Sound covering , of which is in Rhode Island. The bay forms New England's largest estuary, which functions as an expansive natural harbor and includes a small archipelago. S ...
; the Mohegans a reservation in and near
Norwich, Connecticut
Norwich ( ) is a city in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The Yantic River, Yantic, Shetucket River, Shetucket, and Quinebaug Rivers flow into the city and form its harbor, from which the Thames River (Connecticut), Thames River f ...
.
Tredwell and Morrison continued to represent the tribes before the hearing.
State enabling legislation (1906)
A bill granting the Montauks permission to sue was introduced in February 1903. The Montauk's lawyer,
Charles O. Maas
Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...
, was the key lobbyist for the bill.
On April 10, 1906, the New York legislature passed a statute enabling the Montauk tribe to bring suit, The act contained the following proviso: "the question as to the existence of the Montauk Tribe of Indians shall be a question of law and fact to be determined by the court."
[Strong, 2001, at 127.] Judge Blackmar interpreted the act as "providing that the act should not be construed as conferring tribal rights on any individuals, but that the question of the existence of the Montauk Tribe should be determined by the court."
''Pharaoh v. Benson'' (N.Y. 1918)
Supreme Court
Pursuant to the enabling act, Chief Wyandank Pharaoh brought a third suit on behalf of the tribe in 1906.
The named defendants were:
Jane Ann Benson and Mary Benson, the executrices of Arthur Benson's will,
John J. Pierrepoint and
Henry R. Hoyt, the executors and trustees of
Frank Sherman Benson's will, Mary Benson, the
Montauk Company Montauk derives from a place-name in the Mohegan-Montauk-Narragansett language. It can refer to:
* Montaukett, an Algonquian-speaking Native American group native to the eastern end of Long Island, though some were later exiled to Missouri
Montauk ...
, the
Montauk Dock and Improvement Company Montauk derives from a place-name in the Mohegan-Montauk-Narragansett language. It can refer to:
* Montaukett, an Algonquian-speaking Native American group native to the eastern end of Long Island, though some were later exiled to Missouri
Montauk ...
,
Alfred W. Hoyt, the
Montauk Extension Railroad Company
The Long Island Rail Road is a railroad owned by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in the U.S. state of New York. It is the oldest United States railroad still operating under its original name and charter. It consolidated several other ...
, and the
Long Island Rail Road
The Long Island Rail Road , or LIRR, is a Rail transport, railroad in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, stretching from Manhattan to the eastern tip of Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County on Long Islan ...
.
An area of was named in the third complaint ( of it adjacent to the LIRR).
Chief Pharaoh was represented by Maas and
Lawrence W. Trowbridge
Lawrence may refer to:
Education Colleges and universities
* Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States
* Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States
Preparator ...
(
of counsel
Of counsel is the title of an attorney in the legal profession of the United States who often has a relationship with a law firm or an organization but is neither an associate nor partner. Some firms use titles such as "counsel", "special couns ...
).
The defendants were represented by
Daly, Hoyt & Mason (for the Bensons),
Austin & McLanahan (for the Dock and Improvement Co.),
A. T. Mason
A is the first letter of the Latin and English alphabet.
A may also refer to:
Science and technology Quantities and units
* ''a'', a measure for the attraction between particles in the Van der Waals equation
* ''A'' value, a measure of s ...
(for Pierrepoint and Henry Hoyt),
P. Tecumseh Sherman P. is an abbreviation or acronym that may refer to:
* Page (paper), where the abbreviation comes from Latin ''pagina''
* Paris Herbarium, at the ''Muséum national d'histoire naturelle''
* ''Pani'' (Polish), translating as Mrs.
* The ''Pacific Rep ...
(for Alfred Hoyt), and
Joseph Keany (for the LIRR).
According to a 1910 Q&A in the ''New York Times'', the lawyers fees were "long since supposed to have eclipsed the value of the land in litigation."
[Queries and Answers, ''New York Times'', Nov. 6, 1910, at X11.]
The trial took place, without a jury, before Judge
Abel Blackmar of the Supreme Court of Suffolk County, Special Term.
[Strong, 2001, at 128.] Fourteen of the sixteen living Montauk men appeared as witnesses at trial.
Judge Blackmar, ruled against the Montauks on October 11, 1910.
[Indians Can't Get Lands, ''New York Times'', Oct. 12, 1910, at 6.] According to Blackmar, the Montauks individually conveyed all their lands and claims to Arthur Benson between 1885 and 1894, in exchange for $100 to $250 each, except for Wyandank Pharaoh who received only $10, plus between in
Freetown
Freetown () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, e ...
and
East Hampton, plus a $240 annuity to be divided per capita.
Judge Blackmar also relied upon a December 1686 patent granted by Governor
Thomas Dongan
Thomas Dongan, 2nd Earl of Limerick (1634 – 14 December 1715) was an Irish military officer and colonial administrator who served as the governor of New York from 1683 to 1688. He called the first representative legislature in the Province o ...
to the freeholders of East Hampton, granting them the exclusive right to purchase Indian lands in the area.
Benson had separately purchased the fee rights from the descendants of the patentees.
Judge Blackmar also held that the Montauks were no longer a tribe:
During this long period the number of the Indians was greatly reduced. Their blood became so mixed that in many of them Indian traits were obliterated. They had no internal government, and they lived a sort of shiftless life, hunting, fishing, cultivating the ground 'Indian fashion' as a witness called it, and often leaving for long periods and working in some menial capacity for the whites.
Appellate Division
On appeal, the Montauks found a new lawyer:
Allen Caruthers.
The Appellate Division—composed of Judges Jenks, Burr, Rich, Stapleton, and Putnam—affirmed on October 16, 1914.
On appeal, the Montauks were represented by Allen Caruthers, while the defendants were represented by
Charles K. Carpenter, with
Alexander T. Mason and
George T. Austin on the brief.
Judge Burr, for a unanimous court, wrote the opinion.
Court of Appeals
The Court of Appeals—composed of Chief Judge
Frank Harris Hiscock
Frank Harris Hiscock (April 16, 1856 – July 2, 1946) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. He was Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals from 1917 to 1926.
Biography
He was born in 1856 to L. Harris Hiscock, a lawyer and ...
and Judges
Emory A. Chase,
Frederick Collin,
William Herman Cuddeback,
John W. Hogan
John W. Hogan (November 10, 1853 in Troy, New York, Troy, Rensselaer County, New York – January 30, 1926 in Boston, Massachusetts) was an American lawyer and politician from New York (state), New York. He also served as Deputy Supreme Knight of ...
, McLaughlin, and
Frederick E. Crane—affirmed (per curiam, without opinion) on January 29, 1918, without costs.
[''Pharaoh v. Benson'', 126 N.Y.S. 1035 (Sup. Ct. 1910), aff'd, 149 N.Y.S. 438 (App. Div. 1914), aff'd, 119 N.E. 1072 (N.Y. 1918) (per curiam).]
Aftermath
Federal lobbying
Maas departed for Washington, D.C., after the passage of the state enabling legislation.
The Interior Department endorsed the idea on July 7, 1906.
In January 1921, Senator
James Wolcott Wadsworth, Jr. (R-NY) and Representative
Homer P. Snyder
Homer Peter Snyder (December 6, 1863 – December 30, 1937) (aka H.P. Snyder) was an American politician and businessman from New York. Snyder began his business career in the knitting industry, and moved to bicycle manufacturing. He left the comp ...
(R-NY) introduced legislation and asked the Interior Secretary to report to Congress on the Montauk's tribal status and the merits of their land claim. The Secretary prepared a report agreeing with the conclusions of Judge Blackmar and the New York appellate courts in ''Pharaoh v. Benson''. The
Senate Committee on Indian Affairs
The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs is a select or special committee (United States Congress), committee of the United States Senate charged with oversight in matters related to the Native Americans in the United States, American Indian, Nati ...
received the report on April 22, 1922, and introduced the Wadsworth bill that June; the bill did not make it out of committee.
In 1996, represented by
Bell, Boyd & Lloyd, the Montauks filed a letter of intent with the Branch of Acknowledgement and Research of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the first step towards federal recognition. The petition for recognition was submitted on June 23, 1998. The tribe received a request for documents from the BIA in January 1999.
State lobbying
On February 14, 1922, New York state assemblyman
John J. O'Connor introduced legislation to compensate the Montauks. The bill excluded
James Waters
James may refer to:
People
* James (given name)
* James (surname)
* James (musician), aka Faruq Mahfuz Anam James, (born 1964), Bollywood musician
* James, brother of Jesus
* King James (disambiguation), various kings named James
* Prince James ...
and the other members of the Montauk diaspora.
[Strong, 2001, at 150.] The bill would have created a three-person committee—composed of two assembly members and one state senator—to determine whether the land claim had been meritorious.
The bill never reached the floor.
Montaukett burial grounds
In 1983, Fort Hill Associates and Signal Hill Associates applied to the town of East Hampton for a permit to build homes on North Neck hill, above the Montauks’ ancestral burial ground.
[Strong, 2001, at 160.] As quoted in the ''New York Times'', the East Hampton town supervisor said, "Who cares about a bunch of dead Indians?"
The Montauketts won a temporary injunction in court that July.
That November, the town board voted to purchase the for $1.4 million and preserve the burial ground.
In 1989, developers announced plans touching on a different Montaukett burial ground in North Neck.
After protests, the town government agreed to preserve the site in 1991.
[Strong, 2001, at 163.]
State parks
In 1984, the federal government announced plans to sell
Montauk Air Force Station
Montauk Air Force Station was a US military base at Montauk, New York, Montauk Point on the eastern tip of Long Island, New York (state), New York. It was decommissioned in 1981 and is now owned by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation ...
, a air force installation southwest of Montauk Point, to real estate developers.
[Strong, 2001, at 162.] New York State and the Town of East Hampton sued to block the sale.
The land was eventually turned over to the
New York State Park Service, becoming
Camp Hero State Park.
The state purchased of Hither Woods in 1986 and created
Hither Hills State Park
Hither Hills State Park is a state park located on the eastern end of the South Fork of Long Island near the hamlet of Montauk, New York.
History
The land that was to become Hither Hills State Park was once slated for private development of a ...
.
In 1988, the state purchased more to augment the park.
Notes
References
*John A. Strong, ''The Montaukett Indians of Eastern Long Island'' (2001).
*John A. Strong, Who Says the Montauk Tribe Is Extinct? Judge Abel Blackmar's Decision in ''Wyandank v. Benson'' (1909), 16 Am. Indian Culture & Res. J. 1 (1992).
{{Aboriginal title in the United States
Aboriginal title in New York
Long Island Rail Road
Montauk, New York