Letters

A New EraIt is my firm belief that we need to support our Shinnecock neighbors and welcome them into the 21st century as partners.

The monuments they are building on their land [“Shinnecock Nation Leaders Say Signs On Sunrise Are Essential To Tribe’s Economic Well-Being,” 27east.com, May 11] are a perfect example of the blending of righteous Indigenous pride (“We are still here!”) and the kind of technological and economic smarts that is being used all over the Hamptons—as well as all over this country—by the colonizers who never offered them the respect and support that is their due. Instead they tried genocide—and marginalization.

Lance Gumbs has shared with us in the article just how many different ways Southampton Town—one of the wealthiest places in this country!—has failed to lend support to the various ideas of these enterprising Indigenous Warriors upon whose lands we dwell. That time is over now.

In so many ways, the majority of us (yes, the majority: Trump lost to Hillary by 3 million votes, and there are many hundreds of thousands more woke people in America today) are ready to establish a New World Order, one based on kindness, compassion, sharing and protecting the larger environment, rather than continuing down the hate-filled toxic path we’re on.

Let the Indigenous—our Shinnecock tribe!—lead the way to this new era. They know how. We need them. And it’s the right thing to do.

Stand with the Shinnecock. Support the monuments.

Heidi Rain OleszczukNoyac