The Shinnecock Nation’s proposal to build a casino in the town of Southampton, which sits within their 900-acre Native American reservation site on Long Island, just 90 miles from Manhattan, is expected to be greeted with a wave of vocal opposition from permanent and semi-permanent residents alike. Southampton’s Town Supervisor, Jay Schneierman, is opposed to the planned site, stating that he “cannot think of a worse place to build a casino.” The tribe points to the hypocrisy of those who built manicured golf courses and gaudy mansions on their sacred land. It is estimated that around 50% of all federally recognised tribes now operate gaming facilities of some kind and Jonodev Chaudhuri, former head of the National Indian Gaming Commission, says that “gaming has become the economic lifeblood of many native and non-native communities.”
