The Shinnecock Indian tribe said on Wednesday it was seeking billions of dollars for 150 years of back rent on land it inhabited for 12,000 years in New York state… The Shinnecock tribe… said they have inhabited the shores of Long Island for 500 generations and were swindled in an 1859 deal they say was forged with a group of unnamed private investors, wherein members of the tribe signed over their claim to the disputed land. [CNN]
[Scene: Big desi guy with a Brooklyn accent walks in. He approaches a flat and starts pounding on the door.] ‘Queenie! Hey, Queenie! You owe me back rent! Yeah, for India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. You’re 58 years overdue. What, eviction didn’t teach you anything? Fuggedaboutit. I know you’re in there. I’m slidin’ a bill under the door. It’s for damage to the place. You gotta pay me back for the gems you stole from the Taj Mahal. That’s right, tack that onto the back rent. Yeah, I know you added permanent fixtures. But that was with my money, labor and materials. So don’t go gettin’ all holy on me. I’m taking my chicken tikka masala back. And my Farokh Bulsara records. What? You actin’ like you nevah heard of an Indian giver before. My lawyah will be comin’ by in the morning.
‘Lemme let you in on a little secret. Yeah, you stole a lot of stuff from the place before leavin’. It’s a pretty long list. Truth is, I only want one thing, and it ain’t even on the list. So listen up before the lawyahs get involved. It’ll save you a lotta grief. Here it is:
‘All I really want is… an apology.’
Sadly for the Shinnecock, the account books of history are kept in a palimpsest, not a journaling file system.
There’s a difference in the extent of decimation. To really oversimplify it; desis still occupy their land, while Amerinds do not. Although I’m all for a global affirmative action scheme 🙂 (which the EU used to have in the form of banana subsidies before the WTO shut it down, from what i remember)
In any case, I’m no lawyer but this seems like something that can be ruled on in a court of law in the United States (either as a treaty as a contract) since it was in 1859, and therefore helps the tribe bring attention to the issue over a protracted time period–i.e. could be a good tactic. I hope they milk it for all its worth.
Next thing you know the descendents of Marathas in Maharashtra will be asking the Afghanistan government for reparations for the third Panipat war and asking for the return of descendents of captured women and slaves. Oh wait…
Damn right!!
PS-what the hell is a lawyah?
A machine for converting coffee into billable hours 🙂
You might have included another paragraph or two from the article:
The area is part of the Hamptons, known as a summer playground for New York’s rich and privileged classes who flock there to escape the heat of the city.
The suit, which also names the governor, a local railroad and the town of Southampton, lays claim to 3,600 acres of land encompassing the upscale Shinnecock Hills Golf Course and Long Island University’s Southampton College.
I hope they get it 😉