A Day for Celebration, and Giving Thanks: After Long Wait, Little Beach Harvest Cannabis Dispensary Opens Doors on Shinnecock Territory

At the grand opening of Little Beach Harvest cannabis dispensary on Shinnecock Nation territory on November 15, Chenae Bullock, Little Beach Harvest’s managing director, sang a traditional Shinnecock song to the crowd of Shinnecock elders, tribal council members, and members of the public and media who had come to witness a day that was eight years in the making.

The song prominently featured the Shinnecock phrase “MAMOWEENENE“: ”We move together.”

That concept of community solidarity, and commitment to working together toward a unifying goal and purpose, was a theme for the day, as the nation celebrated the opening of the 5,000-square-foot cannabis dispensary on its sovereign tribal land at 56 Montauk Highway.

Little Beach Harvest is the first tribe-owned and -operated, tax-free cannabis dispensary in Suffolk County. Several tribe members have set up private smoke shops selling cannabis products along Montauk Highway surrounding the new facility.

The opening of the doors on November 15 was an effort eight years in the making, requiring collaboration among a long list of partners both inside the Shinnecock Nation and from outside businesses and organizations.

“I am thrilled we are officially opened on Shinnecock sovereign territory,” Tribal Chairman Bryan Polite said at the grand opening. “We look forward to serving the community and ensuring a first-class experience. This triumphant milestone is significant to our nation as we enter the cannabis market, creating jobs, business alliances, and access to all. Our journey has just begun, and we invite all of New York to visit our beautiful dispensary and experience what Shinnecock has to offer.”

Both Polite and Bullock spent time extending their thanks and gratitude to people and organizations that were instrumental in the process of opening Little Beach Harvest in the picturesque two-story building built on Montauk Highway. They gave special thanks not only to tribal elders and the council of trustees, but to a longtime investor and tribal development partner, Todd Bergeron of Connor Green, and Barre Hampe, a consultant for Connor Green and a Shinnecock citizen. “Their tireless efforts helped get the project over the finish line,” Polite said.

The Shinnecock Cannabis Regulatory Division will oversee all operations for each component of Little Beach Harvest’s operation, according to the Shinnecock Nation’s tribal cannabis laws, and every brand sold at the dispensary has been tested at New York State standards.

Because the dispensary is wholly owned and operated by the Shinnecock Nation, on its own sovereign land, purchases are not subject to taxes, but there is a 4 percent Shinnecock Community Fee on every purchase. Those fees go directly back into the community, providing assistance for members of the Shinnecock Nation who are in need.

Little Beach Harvest will be an important engine for economic development within the Shinnecock community, but the meaning and significance of the new dispensary goes far beyond what it can do for the nation from an economic standpoint. Bullock spoke about the deep meaning that the cannabis plant has within Shinnecock culture.

“It’s the sacred medicine plant that we can never lose sight of,” she said. “And that’s been very difficult, because the entire world has an idea of what cannabis is. But we know, as Indigenous people, the use of cannabis and the sacredness of cannabis. We’ve known that for thousands of years, and we’ve been prevented from entering an industry to save our people using a sacred plant.

“That’s what Little Beach Harvest is doing: entering an industry with the world, and giving an opportunity not only to the Shinnecock people but to so many more people to learn about the sacredness of this plant.”

After a special ceremony, where Bullock handed out several gifts to many different individuals who helped along the way — in keeping with the Shinnecock gift-giving tradition — the doors to the dispensary were finally opened, and those in attendance had a chance to take a look inside the space, and browse the products being offered.

Every element of the design of the building was as painstakingly thought out as what would be for sale inside.

Hamptons-based architects T-Arch Studio designed Little Beach Harvest to evoke a modern trading post, featuring organic elements like natural stone and light wood that are symbolic of the nation’s connection to the land. Tribal citizens worked closely with architects to intentionally use Indigenous wood, such as cedar.

The Shinnecock Nation Environmental Department, Natural Resources Department, and Cultural Enrichment Department also worked closely with project management teams DNA Multi Services LLC, J2H Partners and Rycon Construction Inc. to ensure that proper tribal protocols were followed before land clearing. Indigenous plants were incorporated into the landscape design under the direction of a Shinnecock ethnobotanist. Tribal citizens also consulted on interior design elements reflective of Shinnecock culture.

The feedback from the first customers at the grand opening was overwhelmingly positive.

Kimber Arezzi of Farmingdale had the distinction of making the first purchase. A self-described medical cannabis patient and advocate, Arezzi said that being on hand for the opening of Little Beach Harvest was important to her for a number of reasons.

“I’m excited about the opportunities for employment, for economic growth for our Shinnecock partners and family members to be able to grow and strive, and, as a Long Island parent and community member, I’m so excited that there’s an opportunity for safe, regulated and tested cannabis for people who live here as well as for our huge tourist population that we see every summer,” she said.

Arezzi said she was also eager to support Bullock, whom she first met at a community event in 2019. She described her as “an inspiration and a force for women in cannabis.”

Also on hand at the grand opening was David Falkowski, founder of Bridgehampton-based Open Minded Organics, which grows and processes USDA Organic certified full spectrum hemp extracts. He said he was happy to be on hand and support Little Beach Harvest.

“I grew up out here, and I’ve known a bunch of these people since I was in middle school and high school,” he said. “I operate in the New York space, and it’s great to see safe cannabis that’s local, so people don’t have to go to weird, dark places, and to see it normalized in an upscale setting.

“I came here to bless the Shinnecock Nation today,” he continued. “They said repeatedly at the ribbon cutting how much work it takes, and I know firsthand, operating on the New York state side, the weight of these endeavors. It’s no small lift, so you’ve got to respect that.”

While many of her fellow tribal members and other members of the public who had come from near and far to check out the dispensary and make their purchases milled around below, Bullock sat at her desk on the second floor, the sounds of a thriving store open for business filtering up to the balcony. She spoke about what she was feeling in that moment.

“It’s a really big achievement,” she said. “I’m just feeling joy. I’m feeling like you should feel around harvest and gathering and family, that warm and fuzzy feeling. That’s what I have.”

She spoke about a particularly poignant moment at the ribbon-cutting ceremony, when tribal elder Gloria Smith asked if she could address the crowd. She became emotional as she spoke about the pride she felt in seeing all the hard work that Bullock and other tribal members from younger generations had put in to make the dispensary a reality.

“Having the elder speak, that was unexpected,” Bullock said, adding that she had invited Smith to the ribbon-cutting, but did not know she would get up and address the crowd. “To have the elders coming here is important, because they can see this before they leave us. For me, that is part of the victory.”

Another part of the triumph, Bullock said, was seeing a project of such magnitude through to fruition, knowing that the bar is always set unfairly high for certain groups when they set out to achieve something big, but not for others. “Marginalized communities, for far too long, have to always go above and beyond and make sure they’re doing everything perfectly,” she said.

During her remarks to the crowd before the doors opened, Bullock repeatedly referenced the importance of emphasizing the relational nature of the business over the transactional elements. Her hope for those who visit and purchase products at Little Beach Harvest is simple but profound.

“I want them to feel like they have contributed, that they have invested in, that they have been able to make some sort of difference in one of the most marginalized communities in the state,” she said. “I want them to feel like they’re not just taking.

“I don’t want them to feel like a consumer. I want it to feel more like an offering, like a gift.”

Little Beach Harvest is now open seven days a week, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. For more information, go to littlebeachharvest.com or follow them on Instagram at littlebeachharvest.