Southampton considering new graveyard protection laws
runningwolf
By Bryan Finlayson
Nov 6, 09 10:18 AM
Unmarked graves and sacred sites will receive new protections under
legislation currently moving through Southampton Town government.
The so-called “Native American and Colonial Burial Site Protection
Law” would establish a three-person committee to review discoveries of
burial sites, human remains and funeral artifacts. The committee would
also determine the heritage of the human remains—either American
Indian or European—and decide what to do with the remains.
Also, companion legislation to amend town law would require an
archeological investigation at sites slated for development and
believed to be likely burial grounds.
Both pieces of draft legislation were reviewed for the first time by
the Town Board at a meeting on Friday, October 23.
Since 2005, members of the Shinnecock Indian Nation have petitioned
the town for greater protection of their ancestral burial sites.
Shinnecock Archeological Advisory Committee member Rebecca Genia said
the new laws would protect “90 percent” of sacred Shinnecock lands
threatened by development in Southampton Town. The laws, she said, are
long overdue.
“I don’t mean to be sarcastic, but it really wears on your nerves when
you know your ancestors’s graves are sited for development,” Ms. Genia
said. “Enough is enough.”
The main responsibility of the committee would be to determine what to
do with remains or funeral artifacts once they are found, Assistant
Town Attorney Joseph Burke said. Choices include leaving the remains
at the site or removing and reburying the remains on a different
property.
“Right now, the way it’s drafted, the committee would make those
decisions,” Mr. Burke said. “The main issue is the disposition.”
The committee will likely be comprised of a representative of the
Shinnecock Indian Nation, the Landmark Board Advisory Committee and a
resident of Southampton Town with background in archeology, Mr. Burke
said.
According to the proposals, if remains or burial artifacts are
discovered, the owner of the property will be required to notify the
committee of the discovery. Property owners who do not notify the
committee of discovery of human remains or burial artifacts will face
fines up to $5,000 and jail time.
Incorporated villages are exempt from the new law.
“Upon discovery, all construction would have to stop,” Mr. Burke said.
“Any proposed development [at known burial sites] would have to have a
complete archeological examination.”
Mr. Burke said the town and the Shinnecock Nation have worked together
in drafting the new legislation. Ms. Genia hopes the legislation will
be approved in spring 2010.
“[The Shinnecock] were favorable that the town was moving forward to
enact something like this,” Mr. Burke said. “I think they feel like
something on the local level is important and I think the Town Board
feels the same way.”
Mr. Burke said the draft legislation will be brought before the Town
Board for another review next month. Before deciding whether to enact
the legislation, the board must hold a public hearing.
The Shinnecock have seen numerous sacred lands destroyed by
development. Grave sites were being desecrated as early as the
construction of the Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in 1891, Ms. Genia
said. Later, in the 1970s, a home was built over grounds where the
Shinnecock buried their chiefs.
“There were no laws to protect [sacred lands],” Ms. Genia said. “There
were no avenues to protect that sacred site. It was considered
unmarked burials and private property.”
She added, “It still hurts to this day.”
In a recent instance, developers unearthed a 2,000-year-old skull of a
Shinnecock boy in Water Mill. Southampton Town agreed to purchase the
property as open space, and Ms. Genia said the tribe is planning to
rebury the skull at the property in the coming months.
Ms. Genia said the new law will protect “what’s left” of the open
space in Shinnecock Hills, and other areas throughout the town where
numerous unmarked graves still exist.
After the local law is enacted, Ms. Genia said the tribe will focus on
getting a state law enacted to protect unmarked graves and sacred
sites. Currently under consideration by the State Senate committee on
corporations, authorities and commissions, the “Unmarked Burial Site
Protection Act” would regulate the discovery of burial grounds, human
remains and funeral artifacts.
The state legislation has been under review since it was first
introduced in 2005, Ms. Genia said. Forty-eight states excluding New
York, New Jersey, Vermont and Wyoming have laws to protect unmarked
graves and sacred sites, she said.
“We’re hoping with this local law passed, we could go to New York
State and say, ‘Look, you need to do this,’” Ms. Genia said.