Suffolk Reporter

New York State Senator Anthony Palumbo (R,C-New Suffolk) and Assemblyman Fred Thiele (D-Sag Harbor) announced that their bipartisan legislation (S.8550/A.9124) to grant state recognition to the Montaukett Nation has passed both chambers of the State Legislature in the 2024 Legislative Session.

"The Montaukett recognition legislation has once again passed in both houses of the State Legislature, and with overwhelming bipartisan support. The Montauketts have gone to great lengths to satisfy the State’s requirements for recognition, and I am hopeful that the Governor will finally sign this legislation into law and reinstate the Nation's status that they should have never lost," said Senator Anthony Palumbo. "The Montauketts were recognized for years prior to the Pharoah case, and the enactment of this legislation will correct generations of injustice and provide the Montaukett Indian Nation with the status they deserve."

"We are again on the threshold of restoring state recognition to the Montaukett Indians, which was wrongfully removed from them more than a century ago in one of the most racist court decisions in the history of New York jurisprudence. It is now time for Governor Hochul to sign the legislation correcting this historic injustice. It is never too late to do the right thing," said Assemblyman Fred Thiele.

Key provisions of this legislation include reinstating state recognition and acknowledgment of the Montaukett Indian Nation; establishing that the Montaukett Indian Nation shall have a chief or sachem, three tribal trustees, and a tribal secretary; and specifying qualifications for voters.

The Montaukett recognition legislation was first introduced in the 2013 Legislative Session and passed both Senate and Assembly in 2013, 2017, 2018, 2022, and 2023. However, former Governor Cuomo and Governor Hochul subsequently vetoed each iteration, citing a need for the Department of State (DOS) to conduct an administrative process and make a final determination despite legislative precedent granting Indian nation recognition.

Senator Palumbo’s floor remarks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4cchLzRbzc