23. Lance Gumbs

The Shinnecock Indians would have been among the first aboriginal people to meet the settlers from Europe. Yet despite a long-documented relationship with the United States, the Shinnecock Nation was only finally “recognized” last year. This long-awaited designation was in no small part due to the unrelenting efforts of Lance Gumbs, a local entrepreneur and former tribal trustee who is largely credited with moving the recognition process to the front burner at the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs. Economically and socially, federal recognition means many things to a tribe, but the most high-profile aspect involves the tribe’s right to secure a Class III gaming license on its territory or off-reservation land held in trust by the U.S. government. The issue of gaming has placed Gumbs and the current leadership of Shinnecock in the spotlight for the enormous economic potential for both the Shinnecock people and the surrounding municipalities that are suddenly vying to curry favor with the long-ignored tribe. Never one to shrink from conflict or defend the ancestral right of his people, Gumbs is uniquely suited to help lead the charge until a Shinnecock-owned and operated gambling enterprise is itself fully recognized.