National Review: At the east end of Long Island stand the Hamptons, once sleepy farming and fishing

At the east end of Long Island stand the Hamptons, once sleepy farming and fishing hamlets, now prime real estate, containing the summer homes and playgrounds of the super-rich. The district also contains an 800-acre reservation for 500 or so Shinnecock Indians, descended from the original inhabitants of Long Island. Now the Shinnecocks have asserted a claim to recover 3,600 acres they signed away back in 1859. The targeted land includes two tony golf clubs and several subdivisions, where homes are priced well into seven digits. The tribe also wants billions of dollars in damages and back rent. Radio and TV stations around New York are featuring soft-focus ads backed by moody pan-pipe music, pleading for "fairness" toward the Shinnecock. The ads and the lawsuit are being paid for by two Detroit-based casino developers. Behind all this is bad law, specifically the 1985 Oneida II case, in which the U.S. Supreme Court declared that Indian land claims are not subject to any statute of limitations. Behind that, of course, was racial guilt, the greatest solvent of good sense in the present age. Congress should act to place reasonable limits on claims of past injustice, and to assert the right of property owners to enjoy secure title to their real estate.