Governor Hochul Acquiesces to Native Burial Ground Advocates

New York legislation allowed developers, for many years, to construct new buildings on Native American burial grounds without implementing any preservation measures, making it one of only four states lacking significant protection for graves located on private land.

However, this situation is about to change due to a clause incorporated in the state budget deal that Gov. Kathy Hochul unveiled last week.

The provision, which was approved by the Assembly and Senate on Monday night, will mandate that private property owners cease development if they encounter a burial site on their land, and will criminalize the removal, defacement, or sale of remains or funeral artifacts. The updated legislation is now on its way to the governor, who is anticipated to sign it into law this week.

“This is a major victory for Native Americans across the state of New York,” said Assemblyman Fred Thiele, a Long Island Democrat who co-wrote the bill. “It’s something that should have been done decades ago.”

For nearly two decades, representatives of the state’s tribal communities have been advocating for the protection of their ancestors’ graves, but their efforts were repeatedly thwarted as bills failed to reach a voting stage. When a grave protection bill finally received unanimous support last year, Ms. Hochul vetoed it, citing concerns that it infringed upon the property rights of landowners.

Tribal leaders and many who supported them harshly criticized the veto, blaming it on vested commercial and real estate interests for the law’s repeated failures to pass. “The fact that special interests had been able to block it for so long I think is regrettable,” Mr. Thiele said.

Ms. Hochul declared she would work to strike a balance between grave protection and property rights after the veto last year.

New York currently has safeguards in place for unmarked graves located on public land or uncovered during publicly-funded project excavations. The proposed legislation would require landowners to contact the county medical examiner or coroner if human remains are found on their property. If authorities determine that the remains are of ancient Native American origin, a committee comprising tribal representatives and state specialists would assess the situation. In collaboration with the landowner and the deceased’s descendants, they would then determine the appropriate course of action.

Disagreements between landowners and descendants, including potential delays, resulted in Ms. Hochul’s veto. Resolving these issues required months of negotiation. The budget proposal’s language, however, provided a solution: tribal descendants and “culturally affiliated groups”—other tribes with some connection to the remains—would be granted the “right of possession” of the Native American remains and burial artifacts. In the event of an unresolved disagreement, landowners would reserve the right to have professional archaeologists remove the remains at their own expense. A tribal representative would be permitted to oversee the excavations, with the entire process typically concluding within a three-month period.

Chief Harry Wallace, leader of the Unkechaug Nation of Long Island and the tribes’ chief negotiator, demanded a clause that prohibits property owners from handling native remains or artifacts. Currently, the law grants landowner’s ownership of burial sites discovered on their property.

Mr. Wallace argued that these protective measures are necessary to prevent property owners or developers from pillaging or showing disrespect to Native American burial sites. He highlighted that museums around the world house artifacts taken from Native American graves.

A state legislator who has introduced grave protection bills since 2005—former Assemblyman Steve Englebright, a Long Island Democrat—expressed satisfaction with the prospect of the measure becoming law.

“I thought we would catch up with our sister states at some point,” Mr. Englebright said. “I didn’t think it would take almost 20 years.”