Shinnecock Reclaim Ancestral Burial Ground | 27Speaks Podcast
logo logo logo logo

Sag Harbor Express

East Hampton Press / News / Neighborhood / News / Southampton Press / Neighborhood / 27Speaks / News / Sag Harbor Express / 2265707

Shinnecock Reclaim Ancestral Burial Ground | 27Speaks Podcast

icon 1 Photo
From left, Tela Troge, John v.H. Halsey and Denise Silva-Dennis at an abandoned house in Shinnecock Hills currently being considered for landmark status by Southampton Town. The Peconic Land Trust owns the land and is co-managing it with the Shinnecock-led Niamuck Land Trust. Both groups want the house removed from the site, which is an ancient Shinnecock burial ground — but some residents are hoping to relocate the home, which was originally built more than 100 years ago and had undergone extensive renovation before being abandoned during a bankruptcy proceeding. DANA SHAW

From left, Tela Troge, John v.H. Halsey and Denise Silva-Dennis at an abandoned house in Shinnecock Hills currently being considered for landmark status by Southampton Town. The Peconic Land Trust owns the land and is co-managing it with the Shinnecock-led Niamuck Land Trust. Both groups want the house removed from the site, which is an ancient Shinnecock burial ground — but some residents are hoping to relocate the home, which was originally built more than 100 years ago and had undergone extensive renovation before being abandoned during a bankruptcy proceeding. DANA SHAW

27Speaks on Jun 27, 2024

In Shinnecock Hills, an ancestral Shinnecock burial ground is back in the hands of the Shinnecock Indian Nation. The site is adjacent to the summit of Sugar Loaf Hill, land that has been used by the Shinnecock and other Indigenous people from as far away as New England for cremation and interment. A house deemed historic, but not yet landmarked, sits on the land, and the question of what to do with the house remains. Shinnecock Indian Nation tribal attorney and Niamuck Land Trust Executive Director Tela Troge, Peconic Land Trust President John v.H. Halsey and Express News Group reporter Cailin Riley join the editors on the podcast to talk about the significance of the site and the effort by others to preserve the house there.

Subscribe to 27Speaks on Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music or Spotify, rate us and leave a review.

Related Stories

You May Also Like:

Tracking Reality

Thank you for “Water Hogs” [“The Water Hogs of the Hamptons, 2025,” Residence, 27east.com, August 28], a deeply necessary, smart service to us all, tracking the reality — what the press can do. I teach a course in the spring, “Language as Action: Reading & Writing Water,” and I will use “Water Hogs.” Kathy Engel Sagaponack 15 Sep 2025 by Staff Writer

Rare Treasure

I am urging the Southampton Town Board to keep this land as is, regardless of classification [“Fate of Southampton Town-Owned Poxabogue Field, Within Sagaponack Village, Is Debated at Town Board Meeting,” 27east.com, September 10]. I understand that it is in consideration to be returned to an agricultural use, but it has become an increasingly rare treasure here on the East End: an “old field” environment that now serves as habitat for wildlife, as well as having become a natural water quality buffer to Poxabogue Pond. As development continues to insidiously encroach on our wild neighbors, we threaten that very unique ... by Staff Writer

Ecologically Important

I am a resident and voter in Sagaponack and Southampton Town. Poxabogue Field provides many important ecological services. It serves as: • A wildlife sanctuary, and if farmed, as projected, would be fenced and plowed, obliterating the wildlife that has come to live there. • A natural buffer protecting Poxabogue Pond, its wetlands, and our aquifer. • An important ecosystem for ground-nesting birds, like the American woodcock (photographed in the field last month by Jane Gill), salamanders and turtles, grasshoppers and beetles, butterflies and moths. • A shelter for foxes, rabbits, deer, field mice, raccoons, chipmunks and more. • An open, natural field vista. I believe ... by Staff Writer

Essential Programming

As many East End town residents know who tried to access their public, educational and government (PEG) channels recently, they were no longer available on channels 20 and 22. Instead you were directed to find your channels somewhere in the 1300s. Because of the hue and cry in Newsday and all the local East End print and online media, and by town and village officials and the PEG industry, Altice/Optimum later backtracked and promised to return the channels to their original slots “on or about September 16, 2025” [“Optimum Walks Back Public Access Shakeup With Plan To Restore LTV, Sea-TV ... by Staff Writer

School News, September 18, Sag Harbor & East Hampton Town

College News Sophia Wilson of East Hampton was named to Southern New Hampshire University’s summer 2025 pesident’s list. Jessica Claflin of East Hampton was named to Southern New Hampshire University’s summer 2025 dean’s list. Robert Stanich of East Hampton received the Elmira College Key Award for academic and community leadership. A tradition that goes back to 1935, the EC Key Award is presented to outstanding students in their junior year of high school or preparatory school. This year, the award was given to 831 students in 18 states and Canada. Recipients receive an $88,000 scholarship over a four-year period, $22,000 ... by Staff Writer

Community News, September 18

YOUTH CORNER Read and Play The John Jermain Memorial Library, 201 Main Street in Sag ... by Staff Writer

Town To Host Disability Resource Fair in November

The Southampton Town Disability Task Force will host its second annual Disability Services Resource Fair on Saturday, November 1, from noon to 3 p.m. at the Hampton Bays Community Center, located at 25 Ponquogue Avenue in Hampton Bays. This inclusive community event is open to all and aims to connect individuals and families with valuable resources, service providers, advocates, and support groups. Throughout the afternoon, attendees will have the opportunity to explore a variety of informational booths, speak directly with representatives from both state and local organizations, and learn more about services available to people with disabilities. Highlights of the ... by Staff Writer

Gardella Is Guest at Next Knowlege Friday

Sag Harbor Village Mayor Tom Gardella will be the featured guest at The Church’s next Knowledge Friday, taking place on October 3 at 6 p.m. Gardella, a lifelong public servant, brings decades of experience and community dedication to the conversation. From his early days in U.S. military intelligence to his leadership roles as fire department chief, critical care EMT, and now mayor, Gardella has lived a life defined by service. For this season’s first Knowledge Friday, Gardella will sit down for a one-on-one conversation with Eric Fischl, co-founder of The Church, to share stories from his unique personal and professional ... by Staff Writer

Open Space Impact

I am hoping you will understand the environmental impact of what natural open space, near watering holes, does for our native wildlife. I can only speak professionally as a New York State licensed expert for our state-protected “species of special concern,” Eastern box turtles, and the “endangered” Eastern mud turtles, and “threatened” Eastern spotted turtles, that all call this Poxabogue meadow and Poxabogue Pond home [“Fate of Southampton Town-Owned Poxabogue Field, Within Sagaponack Village, Is Debated at Town Board Meeting,” 27east.com, September 10]. You may ask why our native turtles are important. They are a keystone species, which means if ... by Staff Writer

Rewild Your Yard?

Many neighbors spoke last week at the public hearing on the future of the Poxabogue Field [“Fate of Southampton Town-Owned Poxabogue Field, Within Sagaponack Village, Is Debated at Town Board Meeting,” 27east.com, September 10]. Most speakers wanted the field to not be farmed, as it had been for the past century, but instead wanted the field be left to return to nature. Points were raised about environmental imperatives such as water quality, habitat for birds, pollinators, etc., and also an unobstructed view. Knowing many of those speakers and how their own properties are landscaped and maintained, it occurred to me ... by Staff Writer