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Tribe Ups the Ante2 July 2003HAMPTON BAYS, New York – As reported by Newsday: ``Thumbing its nose at a restraining order by the state attorney general, the Shinnecock Indian Nation Monday broke ground on a 65,000- square-foot casino in Hampton Bays that state and federal officials say will never be allowed to open. ``Tribe members, who pulled a bulldozer onto the land immediately after the ceremony, said they are ready to start construction this week. But several Hampton Bays residents said the tribe is more likely playing a high-stakes game of "chicken" with Gov. George Pataki, hoping he will agree to let them build on a different piece of land rather than risk an ugly public fight. ``…`What this is about is the preservation of our people,’ said Charles Smith, chairman of the tribe's board of trustees. ‘We can no longer live on handouts from the government. We need to work for ourselves.’ ``State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer's office served a temporary restraining order Sunday on four tribe members, including the tribe's three trustees. The restraining order forbids the tribe to begin construction on the site because the state says the Hampton Bays property is not part of the tribe's official Southampton reservation, and therefore requires permits to build. ``Spitzer's representative and the tribe members are to appear in State Supreme Court in Riverhead Wednesday where a judge will decide whether to extend the restraining order. Smith said tribe members have not yet decided whether they will show up in court…” |