Lisa Goree
Lisa Goree | |
|---|---|
| Chair of the Shinnecock Indian Nation Council of Trustees | |
| Assumed office 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Bryan Polite |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1963 or 1964 (age 61–62) |
| Spouse | Kirstin Goree |
| Children | 3 |
| Occupation |
|
Lisa Goree (born 1963/1964) is a Native American politician currently serving as chair of the Shinnecock Indian Nation Council of Trustees, the first woman elected to the position.
Biography
Goree was born to a single mother and raised on the Shinnecock Reservation (the first, and so far, only federally recognized tribe in Long Island) in Southampton, New York.[1] Later moving northward to Riverhead as a young preteen,[1] she went to Riverhead High School.[2]
In the late 1980s, Goree married Kirstin Goree, a carpenter, and they moved back to the tribal territory in the early 1990s[a] to raise their children.[1][2] In 1994, she became one of the inaugural community health workers at Shinnecock Indian Health Services medical center.[3] In 2007, she became deputy assessor of the Town of Southampton,[4] and in 2013, she was promoted to tax assessor.[2] She has also served as a board member for the New York State Assessors Association.[2]
After the early resignation of Bryan Polite, the leader of the Shinnecock Indian Nation Council of Trustees, due to exhaustion,[1] Goree ran in the 2024 Shinnecock leadership election.[5] She was elected as Polite's successor, winning with 133 votes over former predecessor Randy King.[5] Goree later explained to WLIW-FM that she decided on a shorter term to "make sure it's the right fit, and make sure people want me in there".[6] She later announced that one of her goals is to settle the tribe's land dispute with Shinnecock Hills Golf Club.[1]
Although women had already served as trustees, with three of them in the council at the time,[1] she became the first woman elected to the position since the state government's 1792 establishment of the Shinnecock trusteeship.[5] This milestone had been celebrated by her supporters as "a return to its matriarchal leadership roots."[1]
She has three daughters; one of them, Kesi, played NCAA Division II women's basketball for the NYIT Bears and later became the first Native American woman in the Southampton Town Police Department.[1][7]
Election results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Lisa Goree | 133 | |||
| Nonpartisan | Randy King | 103 | |||
| Nonpartisan | Keith Arrindell Jr. | 38 | |||
Notes
- ^ Sources vary on the exact year: the New York Times says she moved in 1990,[1] while Dan's Papers says she moved in 1992.[2]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Kilgannon, Corey (June 10, 2024). "First Female Leader in Centuries Returns a Tribal Nation to Its Roots". New York Times. Retrieved October 14, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e Bolger, Timothy (April 12, 2024). "Shinnecock Nation Elects Lisa Goree as First Female Chair". Dan's Papers. Retrieved October 14, 2024.
- ^ Witherspoon, Gary (October 21, 1994). "Shinnecocks Get Medical Center". Newsday (Suffolk Edition). p. A35 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Two new hires to handle development". Newsday (Nassau Edition). January 3, 2007. p. 39 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d Harrington, Mark (April 5, 2024). "Lisa Goree elected as first woman chair to lead Shinnecock Indian Nation". Newsday. Retrieved October 14, 2024.
- ^ "Lisa Goree Elected To Be New Chair of Shinnecock Council of Trustees, First Woman In Tribe's Trustee System History". WLIW. April 11, 2024. Retrieved October 14, 2024.
- ^ "NCAA DIVISION II WOMEN'S BASKETBALL EAST REGION TOURNAMENT" (PDF). New York Institute of Technology. Retrieved October 14, 2024.