New York’s Shinnecock Indian Nation began Monday construction on a dispensary for cannabis on its tribal lands on eastern Long Island. This joint venture between Shinnecock Nation, Tilt Holdings Inc. and an international cannabis company will include Little Beach Harvest. It is a cannabis dispensary measuring 5,000 square feet that is located in Southampton, New York, on Shinnecock tribe territory.

“I am thrilled to start construction on such an important project for the Shinnecock Nation,” Shinnecock Nation Chairman Bryan Polite said in a statement from the joint venture. “Little Beach Harvest has been working hard with our partner, TILT Holdings, to ensure a first-class dispensary for the New York market. This construction kick-off is a step forward for the Shinnecock Nation and I am excited to be a part of such an amazing journey.”

Those attending Monday’s groundbreaking ceremony included the Shinnecock Nation’s Council of Trustees, Chairman Bryan Polite, the Shinnecock Cannabis Regulatory Division, and tribal members including Chenae Bullock, the managing director of Little Beach Harvest. TILT’s chief operating officer Dana Arvidson, chief financial officer Brad Hoch and state and local officials also attended the event.

Joint Venture for Tribal Lands

This joint venture between TILT & the Shinnecock Nation is a wholly tribal-owned marijuana operation. It is the result of six years worth of advocacy, outreach, planning, development and planning. Through a joint venture with the Shinnecock Nation’s cannabis economic development firm Conor Green, TILT is financing, building, and providing management services to Little Beach Harvest.

Construction of the dispensary as well as a cultivation facility will begin the development of this vertically integrated business. Construction on the dispensary will be complete by next year. The construction of the cannabis cultivation facility is scheduled to begin at the end 2022. The site will also be home to a relaxation and consumption area. The Shinnecock Cannabis Regulatory Division will regulate all operations for each component according to the Shinnecock Nation’s tribal cannabis laws.

“It’s incredible to think that we gathered here almost a year ago to announce our partnership. Now, we return to the Shinnecock Nation’s sovereign land to kick off construction, which is truly a substantial milestone in our journey to create social equity for the Shinnecock Nation,” said Arvidson. “Now, we move forward together in building out not only the physical structure of Little Beach Harvest, but our plan in bringing forward plant medicine as an economic engine for the Shinnecock.”

Dispensary features Organic Design Aesthetic

Little Beach Harvest will feature a 5,000-square-foot dispensary space and offer drive-through service along the main Southampton roadway, “creating a unique engagement point between the First People and the Hamptons community” only minutes from Southampton’s business district, according to a statement from the Shinnecock Nation.

Current design plans for Little Beach Harvest by T-Arch Studios showcase an organic aesthetic reflective of the Shinnecock Nation’s connection to the area, with natural stone and light wood elements for both the interior and exterior of the dispensary. Little Beach Harvest’s Environmental Department, Natural Resources Department, and Cultural Enrichment Department were closely involved in ensuring that the proper tribal protocols were observed before clearing land for development.

Bullock, an enrolled member of the Shinnecock Nation, noted, “Anything we envision as a Shinnecock People has to always be for the next seven generations and beyond.”

“The Little Beach Harvest dispensary will be a place where we can share with the world our culture, honor this sacred plant, increase awareness and provide resources for the Shinnecock Nation,” said Bullock. “People who come to our traditional lands to shop in our dispensary will contribute to our economic sustainability. For thousands of years, the people of the Shinnecock Nation have contributed to environmental sustainability, and we are now in times that we can develop economic sustainability through the cannabis industry to continue our stewardship to the earth.”