GARDEN CITY, N.Y. — A small Indian tribe on eastern Long Island learned Tuesday that it had won a decades-long fight for formal federal recognition, inching it closer to opening a casino.
Shinnecock Indians celebrated with prayers and song but declined to discuss gambling, which would require further federal approval.
“This is the most historic moment in Shinnecock history,” trustee Lance Gumbs said from the tribe’s community center on its 1,200-acre reservation in Southampton. “Any discussion of a casino is a secondary thought.”
Tribal leaders noted the Shinnecocks have been trying for decades to obtain federal recognition. That effort kicked into high gear in 2003, when they first tried to open a casino on tribal land. They were told that formal recognition from the Bureau of Indian Affairs is required before operating gaming facilities.
The Shinnecocks must now await a 30-day comment period after the announcement is posted in the Federal Register. After that, recognition is expected to become permanent.
