Shinnecock Indian Nation protests project near Montauk Highway

Members of the Shinnecock Indian Nation earlier this week held a demonstration to oppose construction at a site they believe could have been a sacred burial ground. A developer plans to build a single-family home at the site on Montauk Highway, not far from a property on Hawthorne Road where bones “believed to be those of Shinnecock ancestors were found” in 2018, the East Hampton Star reported. Members of the nation, however, are against construction at the Montauk Highway property, as they believe experts could end up finding bones there, too. “We are not protesters, we are protectors,” elder Margo Thunderbird said at the demonstration. Shinnecock leaders say they hope Southampton Town will buy the land from the developer, as they had the Hawthorne Road property. Town officials said they will be appraising the property and developer Steven Graziano indicated that he would entertain any offers. [East Hampton Star]