43. Harry Wallace

Representing one of Long Island’s native people is an unenviable task. Wallace is the elected chief of the Unkechaug Indian Nation that calls the Poospatuck Reservation in Mastic home. The media generally portrays Poospatuck as the smaller, renegade and insignificant sister of the high-profile Shinnecock, but while Poospatuck may be geographically tiny, Wallace’s influence is not. Law enforcement officials and the court systems have long misunderstood issues related to native lands in our nation, but they made a big mistake by underestimating the long arm of Wallace and the Unkechaug Nation. Recent attacks from New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Gristedes owner John Catsimatidis and New York State over taxation of cigarettes have awakened the sleeping giant. What makes the Poospatuck provocation dangerous is that Wallace is a trained attorney with means who has lost patience with the encroachment on native lands. His power doesn’t all stem from disagreements, however, as Wallace has been a tireless preservationist of Unkechaug language and tradition.