Shinnecock Tribe Member Angered Over Beach Parking Fees

A Southampton Village parking ticket has left one member of the Shinnecock Indian Nation angry that members of the tribe are not granted cheaper rates for parking at beaches neighboring the reservation.

Last month, Dyani Brown petitioned members of the Southampton Village Board and Town Board, requesting that anyone with a federally issued Shinnecock Tribal ID card be allowed to visit and park at all Southampton beaches without any fees. Since sending the letter to officials on September 8, Ms. Brown said she has received little to no feedback, and added that it is a shame that Shinnecock tribe members “do not get more respect” on the East End.

“It is not fair that we have to pay to go to the beach and that our tribal ID card is not enough,” Ms. Brown said. “When I go to local, non-paying beaches and it is filled up, it is frustrating. I want to come to the beach for two or three hours and enjoy the ambiance. It was my last day to enjoy that for a while.”

Southampton Town Supervisor Anna Throne-Holst said that members of the Shinnecock Nation have always been eligible for the resident rate of $30 to visit town-owned beaches, and that this has not been an issue in the past.

Ms. Brown was inspired to write to the local politicians after she was given a parking ticket on August 9 for parking at Coopers Beach in the village without a permit, and for not heeding the instructions of the parking attendant. According to Ms. Brown’s account, she had tried to go to a local beach that does not require a parking pass, but it was filled with tourists, so she went to the village beach and presented her tribal ID card, at which point she was told it would cost $40 to park for the day.

“With my tribal ID card, we should not have to pay,” Ms. Brown said. “We are as local as local gets.”

After being advised by the manager that she would be parking at her own risk and would have to bring her argument to Village Hall, Ms. Brown proceeded to park at Coopers Beach, and when she returned to her car several hours later, she found a ticket, which she has not yet paid. She has a court date scheduled in November and said she intends to fight the ticket.

“I respect the manager for upholding the law and informing me of my risk in parking, although a little particularism would have been nice,” Ms. Brown wrote in her letter. “However, whether the manager went out of her way to report me or not, I cannot help but feel that I am being made an example, an example that the rights of Shinnecock people are still irrelevant and inferior.”

This month, Southampton Village Mayor Mark Epley said that to his knowledge there have not been any discussions with members of the tribe about their being eligible for resident permit fees. He declined to speak about the letter any further.

Ms. Brown said she hopes things will change in the future at both village and town beaches.

“I am hoping they will change their policies so that the Native Americans who have been here since before they got here can use the beaches they have always used like a normal person,” she said. “There is no reason to pay $230 to go to the beach. That is not cool.”