Luxury homes rise above Southampton's beaches, but beneath them lie unmarked Shinnecock graves. That conflict, between preservation and privilege, was at the heart of Conscience Point, the documentary screened at Stony Brook University, followed by a discussion with filmmaker Treva Wurmfeld and members of the Shinnecock Nation.

The October 15 event, part of the Humanities Institute's Pressing Matters lecture series, drew students, faculty, and community members for a discussion of the experiences and history of generations of the Shinnecock Nation, as well as their activism and art.

The 2019 PBS documentary follows Shinnecock activist Rebecca Genia and others as they battle the desecration of ancestral burial grounds and environmental degradation caused by unchecked development in Southampton: "the largest gap between rich and poor," as it was described in the documentary.

For Wurmfeld, the challenge was balancing artistry with accountability. She described Rebecca Genia, the film's central activist, as her "North Star" throughout production. "Every decision came back to Becky, how she saw her community, how she wanted their story told," Wurmfeld said. The filmmaker emphasized that the story's emotional center came from Genia's decades of activism, often fought in local town halls and courts long before cameras arrived.

Speakers reflected on centuries of Long Island development that saw luxury homes rise atop ancestral remains: a stark reminder of how erasure is embedded in the landscape itself.

Joining Wurmfeld were Kelly Dennis, attorney and former tribal leader, Dennis' parents, heavily involved members of both the Nation and the battle to protect remains, and Shane Weeks, artist and cultural ambassador of Shinnecock Nation. Both emphasized the film's importance as a rare space for Indigenous voices to tell their own stories. "It's one of the only films that talked about our perspective," Weeks said.

Sohl Lee, associate professor in the Department of Art, co-hosted the event and also brought her class, ARH 391 "Topics in Global Art," to the lecture.

The conversation touched on the Nation's success in helping to pass the New York State Unmarked Burial Site Protection Act in 2022, legislation that grew out of years of activism documented in the film. Dennis described the struggle as one of "living in two worlds at all times," echoing her mother's words about balancing identity and advocacy.

For Wurmfeld, Conscience Point was never just about land; it was about visibility. "The fight to preserve ancestral sites, to protect water, to be heard, these are all connected," she said, reflecting on the intersection of Indigenous sovereignty and ecology that shaped the film's narrative.

As the discussion closed, Weeks hinted at his upcoming exhibition at the Queens Museum, Of The Earth: Connections, which explores the relationship between water and earth through Shinnecock traditions. His words, like the film itself, underscored a message that carried through the afternoon: preservation is not just about the past, it's an act of survival.

-Lily Miller