Not Confined to the Reservation - 2004-01-26
When the Shinnecock Indian Nation started building a 65,000-square-foot casino in Hampton Bays last summer, tribal leaders knew they had a battle ahead of them. That's because, according to the U.S. government, it is is not officially a tribe at all.
They had applied for federal recognition, a prerequisite for opening a casino, nearly 25 years earlier, and were still waiting for a decision.
But soon after New York State and Southampton Town sued the tribe to make it stop construction, something strange happened: In an unprecedented move, U.S. District Judge Thomas Platt said that he would bypass the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs and decide for himself whether the Shinnecock should be recognized.
Read the full story at Newsday