Montauk Point land claim

The Montauk Point land claim was a series of three lawsuits brought by Chief Wyandank Pharaoh, nephew of the Stephen Talkhouse who died in the same year (1879) that the tribe lost the last remaining vestige of their territory in the New York state courts, claiming Montauk Point on behalf of the Montaukett Indians, against the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) and its predecessors in title.

The first suit, Montauk Tribe of Indians v. Long Island R.R. Co., brought by Wyandank Pharaoh in the name of the tribe, was dismissed because the tribe had not been explicitly authorized by the state to sue in its own name.^[1]

As recommended by the Appellate Division's opinion, the second suit, Johnson v. Long Island R.R. Co., was brought in the name of Eugene A. Johnson, a citizen and tribal member. The New York Court of Appeals disavowed the previous dicta of the Appellate Division, and held that neither an individual Indian nor a tribe could sue in court without enabling legislation.^[2]

The tribe failed in its efforts to convince the federal government to pass legislation enabling the tribe to bring the claim in federal court. In 1906, the state passed a statute enabling the tribe to sue, and Wyandank Pharaoh brought a third suit, Pharaoh v. Benson, in the name of the tribe. Reaching the merits, the New York courts held that the tribe no longer existed and that the transactions were valid.^[3] Since the litigation, the Montauks have failed in their efforts to obtain compensation from the federal and state government, and much of the land in question has come to be held by public parks.^[4]