New Cannabis Dispensary Set To Open At Shinnecock Indian Nation

SOUTHAMPTON, NY — A new chapter will commence Monday as the Shinnecock Indian Nation and TILT Holdings host the official groundbreaking ceremony for the Little Beach Harvest cannabis dispensary.

The facility, located at 56 Montauk Highway, will the "first-of-its kind, fully Indigenous-owned cannabis operation," a release said. "Little Beach Harvest is positioned right along the main Southampton roadway, creating a unique engagement point between the First People and the Hamptons community."

The event, which is slated to take place at noon, will include the groundbreaking, traditional Shinnecock smudging, participation by tribal singers and drummers, and the presentation of renderings of Little Beach Harvest.

A previous signing event was held in 2019 on the Shinnecock Reservation for the planned "medical Cannabis Project."

Shinnecock Nation's former Vice President Lance Gumbs said at the time that the plan was for a medical cannabis dispensary.

The initial plan was to have the medical marijuana brought in from other areas and sold at the the dispensary to start, with a plan to possibly grow on-site in the future, Gumbs said.

The Shinnecock Indian Nation also partnered with investor Conor Green Consulting LLC, he said.

The facility will also serve as a health and wellness center, offering acupuncture and other services as well as medical marijuana — will all services meant to promote holistic healing, Gumbs said.

The dispensary, he said, will serve as another economic generator for the tribe.

"It's another one of the slices of the pie in our empty pie pan. Imagine an empty pie plate. We're putting the slices back in, in the form of economic development. This is another economic engine," he said.

Earlier in 2019 the tribe erected the first of two electronic billboards on Sunrise Highway that sparked controversy. A gas station is also planned, Gumbs said.

It's critical to pursue a number of avenues for economic development, Gumbs said. "We don't want the tribe to be reliant upon one thing — like some tribes, who put all of their eggs in one basket, such as gaming. We want to diversify our economic interests."

Funds raised will help to staff programs on the reservation, he said.