'Slap In The Face': Hochul Vetoes Unmarked Burial Ground Protection

SOUTHAMPTON, NY — After years of crying out for change, the Shinnecock Nation and others were blindsided recently after Gov. Kathy Hochul did not sign legislation that would protect unmarked, ancient burial sites across New York.

In a joint statement, the Shinnecock Graves Protection Warrior Society and Honor Our Indigenous Ancestors condemned Hochul's veto of the Unmarked Burial Site Protection Act on Dec. 30.

"After we rejected unjustified and unpalatable amendments to the Unmarked Burial Site Protection Act, Gov. Hochul made the indefensible decision to veto the legislation on Dec. 30, despite the fact that the legislature passed the bill with near unanimous support," the statement read.

Forty-seven states have laws that protect the remains of Indigenous people and others from "desecration and destruction," the statement read. Hochul is the "only person standing in the way of New York joining that list," the groups said.

"This is yet another slap in the face in line with centuries of brutal settler colonialism and violent land theft. But we will persevere in our fight to preserve our lands from desecrating developers. We will continue to do what is necessary to protect our sacred burial sites and consecrated remains, which is something we’ve been doing since long before New York was even a state," the statement read.

Hochul vetoed the bill because, she said, it would require all activity to cease at a site where human remains were found. Once it was determined that the death was not a homicide, an archeologist would then be granted access to the site to determine the provenance of the bones and issue a report to the Native American Review committee, Hochul said; the same procedure would be followed for other groups.

"Throughout this process, which does not have a specified end date or window, the property owners would have no authority over their own real property, and be forced to accept decisions that impact their property," Hochul said.

She added: "I recognize the need for a process to address unearthed human remains in a way that is respectful to lineal descendants or culturally-affiliated groups. However, any process addressing the handling of unearthed human remains that also involves the private property of New Yorkers must appropriately protect both interests. This bill, as drafted, does not do so."

Hochul said her administration has been working with the Senate and Assembly to try and reach an agreement balancing the rights of property owners with those of the families of lineal descendants or culturally-affiliated groups; she said she would work during the legislative session on the issue.

A total of 37 groups signed a letter to Hochul in recent months.

"New York State customarily leads; it does not follow. The Unmarked Burial Site Protection Act, when signed and implemented, will join New York to the family of states that protect ancient burial sites whose surface appearances may have disappeared over time but are nonetheless sacrosanct land worthy of respect and dignity," the letter said.

Neither the New York State Office of Historic Preservation nor the New York State Department of Environmental Conversation have the resources nor the expertise to singularly provide protection for these sites, advocates continued.

"As a result, private developers have unfettered discretion to destroy these grave sites without fear of reprisal. Federal and New York State laws, as they currently exist, do not apply to lands held privately. It is a gap in an otherwise significant body of enforcement that has paved the way for the appropriate handling of sacred sites and human remains."

The legislation, which passed the legislature during its last session, "closes that gap," the letter read. "Only New York, New Jersey and Wyoming fail to protect human remains found in unmarked burial sites."

The proposed legislation would protect not only Native burial sites, but also those of African Americans and Revolutionary War veterans who were often buried in mass graves, the letter added.

"It is right that we do this," those who signed said.

The Unmarked Burial Site Protection Act would create a committee including the New York State archeologist; provides penalties for failure to report and failure to act in an appropriate and respectful manner; and provides a mechanism for the swift and appropriate disposition of human remains, helps prevent the desecration and theft of human burials, and gives the New York Attorney General authority to intervene when necessary.

"The states of Florida, Massachusetts and Washington have significant urban, rural and suburban populations, similar to New York, and their unmarked burial protection laws work well. If New York State can devise laws to protect wetlands and endangered species, should human remains command anything less?" those who wrote the letter said.

Included in those who signed were the Shinnecock Graves Protection Warrior Society, the Shinnecock Warriors of the Sunrise, the Shinnecock Kelp Farmers and 34 others.
Hochul did not immediately return a request for comment.

After months of protest by members of the Shinnecock Nation, the Southampton Town board acted in 2020 to protect sacred burial grounds from development and desecration.

At that meeting, the Southampton town board voted unanimously to approve the Graves Protection Act and the Shinnecock Hills Building Moratorium to protect areas believed to be ancient burial grounds after members of the Shinnecock Nation had long rallied to stop building in the Fort Hill and Sugar Loaf areas and other locations where their ancestors are buried.

The Graves Protection Act established protocols if human remains are encountered during construction activities — and the six-month moratorium halted new home construction or excavation within areas that included the Fort Hill and the Sugar Loaf areas of Shinnecock Hills and beyond to Peconic Road without first completing an archaeological review.

New York State is one of only a few states that lack the Graves Protection Act, town officials said. The moratorium also affected other large-scale excavation projects in the areas, including accessory structures and swimming pools.

The moratorium was meant to allow time for the town to enact safeguards to prevent the inadvertent desecration of graves and archeological resources in the sensitive area.

"The sanctity of human burial sites must be protected," said Southampton Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman at the time. "We need to be sure we are not disturbing our cultural heritage and destroying ancestral burial grounds."

In January, 2020 a crowd of more than 100 stood in solidarity with members of the Shinnecock Indian Nation engaged in the ongoing rally to save their ancestral burial grounds from development in the Hamptons.

According to Tela Troge, supporters arrived from sister tribes and also from various groups the Shinnecocks have been networking with; the Mashantucket Pequots sent a bus of their tribal members and tribal leaders from Connecticut, she said.

"We were able to block a couple of large pieces of excavator equipment from entering the site. No construction work happened today," Troge said at the time.

Earlier in the year, a large electronic billboard erected by the Shinnecock Indian Nation on Sunrise Highway that sparked outcry from some elected officials and residents was illuminated as a symbol of the tribe's fight to protect its ancient ancestral burial grounds from development.

The sign read: "Stop Desecration of Shinnecock Hills," along with a photo of an ongoing protest that been ongoing for months, with members of the Shinnecock Indian Nation speaking out to halt the desecration of their ancestors' sacred burial site by a development given the green light by Southampton Town.

In 2018, at a site on Hawthorne Road in Shinnecock Hills, tribe members said an ancestor's grave was desecrated when a skull, bones, and 18th-century glass bottle were unearthed during the construction of a home just minutes from the reservation.

After the remains were unearthed in 2018, Southampton Town closed on the purchase of property where the human remains were found; the Shinnecock Indian Nation raised an additional $50,000 for the restoration and preservation of the burial site, officials said.

According to Troge, Sugar Loaf is a New York State and Town of Southampton designated critical environmental area. "It is the site of Shinnecock's most sacred burial area in the Shinnecock Hills and the site of the Shinnecock Contact-era fort."

The Shinnecock tribe's fight to protect their sacred burial sites was the focus of a recent PBS documentary, "Conscience Point."

Pink Floyd icon Roger Waters, who has stood behind the Shinnecock Nation in their fight for economic advancement, thanked Becky Genia for the documentary, "Conscience Point," which chronicles the struggles of the Shinnecock Indian Nation to preserve ancient burial grounds in the shadow of towering mega-mansions, golf clubs, and wrecking balls.

"We will do whatever we can to help you," Waters said. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm onboard for this and will be for as long as there is breath in my body."