Shinnecock Nation Protests To Protect Its Land, Monument With Weeks-Long 'Sovereignty Camp'

Monuments and statues in at least four U.S. cities have been toppled or graffitied with the words “land back” this week. “Land back” is a movement for indigenous sovereignty, and these actions occurred during the week of Thanksgiving, which many Native Americans call the National Day of Mourning.

Along the southern shore of Long Island, the Shinnecock Nation are trying to protect their sovereign land, located in the town of Southampton, New York. The Shinnecock are surrounded by wealth, but roughly 60% of the population lives below the poverty line.

For weeks, members of the tribe camped out in the cold, protesting along Sunrise Highway, the only road into the Hamptons. The protest, called Sovereignty Camp 2020, ended on Nov. 26, Thanksgiving Day. The Warriors of the Sunrise — a group of Indigenous Shinnecock women and their allies — organized the demonstration.

“It was an extreme experience,” says Tela Troge, a lawyer representing the Shinnecock Nation who participated in the protest. “We were under a tornado watch one day. We had bad storms that tore apart the camp some nights. But at the same time, it really was a beautiful experience because we had so many supporters come to visit the camp and we were able to build really strong alliances.”

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