The Shinnecock Indian Nation’s 60-foot-tall electronic billboards, called monuments, on Sunrise Highway have been in operation for about five years now, generating advertising revenue for much-needed infrastructure projects and social programs for the otherwise cash-strapped sovereign Indigenous nation.
But New York State continues to wage war against Shinnecock over these “structures,” as the state calls them, claiming that the tribe built them within an established land easement without a work permit, and that they pose a danger to drivers.
Frankly, we feel the state’s campaign to dismantle the monuments and seek punitive damages is a waste of time and resources. The land on which those electronic monuments sit belongs to the Shinnecock Nation — a sovereign entity whose land was stolen by European colonists. The golf courses and megamansions of today are enough of an insult to injury elsewhere on what had been Shinnecock land. It points to a fundamental misunderstanding of Native American tribal sovereignty.
We travel that highway all the time and have never felt endangered by the monuments. In fact, sometimes we even find the clever advertisements amusing. They are also at times beneficial, having been used to congratulate local student-athletes on their milestones and to help search for missing people.
The official seal of the Shinnecock Indian Nation crowns each of the electronic monuments, which should serve as a reminder that Indigenous people were here first. Something to think about every time a new swimming pool or tennis court goes in.
A related matter is the nation’s travel plaza and gas station, which has lately been under attack by some non-Indigenous people who live nearby, despite the prospect of cheaper fuel for their cars (tribes aren’t required to charge taxes on gas). But again, we’re talking about a sovereign Native American nation that has suffered centuries of injustice. They should be stewards of their own land and their own community concerns. Let’s move out of their way.