All That Remains

Momentum is an intriguing thing, as sports fans can attest. When you have it, remarkable things — good things — can happen. And the only way to get it is hard work, and patience.

The Shinnecock Nation has invested both, for nearly two decades, and it might finally be paying off. Last week, the Southampton Town Board agreed to buy 3.3 acres of land in the Sugar Loaf section of Shinnecock Hills, the remaining lots of a subdivision that angered the Nation when ground was broken on the first, and now only, building lot to be developed. It’s likely that the preserved land includes the remains of Shinnecock ancestors, since that area is particularly hallowed ground among a larger area considered sacred by the tribe.

But the more important development was the announcement, the same night, that public hearings are coming this month on a pair of legislative proposals that could truly change things.

Rebecca Hill-Genia has fought the battle for nearly 20 years, certainly not alone but very much serving as the voice of Shinnecock outrage over the loss of tribal lands, and the ongoing defilement of native burial sites. It’s remarkable, but there are no laws, federal or local, protecting the graves of Shinnecock ancestors laid to rest in Shinnecock Hills, or for any other Native American man, woman or child buried anywhere in the state. It’s also a moral disgrace.

Last year, Ms. Genia became not just the voice but the face of the movement, in a documentary, “Conscience Point,” that aired nationally on PBS. The filmmaker, Treva Wurmfeld, focused on her battle, which has been long bogged down by bureaucracy, indifference and economic pressures. It’s a powerful document that lays out the case that, on the South Fork, there is much inequity, and ongoing threats to many vulnerable groups, including farmers and baymen, because of development pressures. But what’s happening to the Shinnecock is singularly offensive.

Was the movie a breakthrough? It seems to have, charitably, at least brought the issue into clearer focus for town officials, who come across as sincere but ineffective over the years in “Conscience Point” — much lip service, no real action. Ms. Genia, with a reservoir of commitment the size of Shinnecock Bay, has never given up the fight.

It seems that she and fellow tribal officials are poised to achieve something more than talk. A draft measure would require a genuine effort to search for burial sites before a property is disturbed, providing incentives to find a way to protect any that are found — and, more important, real penalties for ignoring the law. Another measure would toughen the effort in Shinnecock Hills, up to and including a moratorium.

Supervisor Jay Schneiderman, who figures largely in “Conscience Point,” appears to realize the time for action is long overdue: “We have a lot further to go,” he said last week, “but I think this is a beginning.” Rebecca Hill-Genia and so many others will hasten to point out: It’s far from the beginning — that came many, many years earlier. But it’s momentum, and the town mustn’t squander it. Get it done.