Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele, Jr. (I, D, WF, WE – Sag Harbor) announced that the New York State Assembly unanimously passed legislation he sponsored that would restore State recognition and acknowledgement of the Montaukett Indian Nation. It is currently awaiting further action in the Senate Finance Committee.

“This measure would reverse a century old wrong,” said Assemblyman Thiele. “The Montaukett Indian Nation is alive and thriving and deserves to be acknowledged by the State.”

The Native American Montaukett Tribe has a long, culturally rich history on the East End of Long Island. They had been formally recognized by the State of New York, until their acknowledgement was questionably removed in 1910 in the land claim case of Pharaoh v. Benson, when the Montaukett Indians were declared to be extinct. Assemblyman Thiele stated, "In deciding a land claim in the case of Pharaoh v. Benson, the courts of New York State did a grave injustice to the Montaukett Indians by declaring that they no longer existed. This misdeed has been perpetuated over the years despite the fact that the members of this sovereign Indian nation have continued to live in our community, maintain their culture, and govern themselves.”

“I am proud the Assembly passed this bill, and I am hopeful that the Senate will act to ensure its passage before the end of the 2017 Session,” the Assemblyman added. “It is time to restore the Montauketts’ rights as a New York indigenous nation.”