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March 14, 2012

To Whom it may Concern:
My name is Robert Pharaoh and I am currently the ChieI/Sachem oI the Montaukett Indian
Nation the oIIicial governance oI the overwhelming majority oI Montaukett descendants. It has been
brought to my attention that a 'Warning Letter was recently distributed to Lawrence Cooke, the local
Easthampton press and various Easthampton Town OIIicials and politicians Irom a law Iirm
representing a Robert Cooper, who claims to be the ChieI oI the Montauk Tribe oI Long Island. This
letter issues a strong warning with an implied legal threat to Mr. Cooke regarding his proposed
Montauk Indian Museum project. Let me state immediately that I consider Mr. Cooke a brother Iireman
and close Iriend. When he Iirst envisioned this project, he approached me directly and asked Ior my
endorsement, which I gladly gave to him. I am keenly interested in preserving and sharing the history
oI the Montaukett people, having Iounded my own historical research center - The Matouwac
Research Center Ior that purpose. I Iirmly believe that my research center in conjunction with Mr.
Cooke's museum project will cooperatively evolve into a comprehensive platIorm to disseminate the
history oI a proud Algonquian indigenous people who once were the preeminent tribe on Long Island.
The area now called Montauk Point was the seat oI this nation, so it is entirely Iitting that a museum to
honor the Montaukett be constructed there. Needless to say this so-called 'Warning Letter disturbs
me, and I now voice my strong objection to it and commit myselI as the rightIul leader oI the
Montaukett people, to opposing it both morally and legally iI it comes down to that eventuality.
What disturbs me even more as a Montaukett and a ChieI is the claims oI leadership made on
Mr. Cooper's behalI by this law Iirm. I am prepared to present my credentials as rightIul leader oI the
Montaukett. I challenge them now publicly to provide a legal basis Ior their claim that Robert Cooper
represents the Montaukett in any way, shape or Iorm.
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SpeciIically, I challenge them to prove that Robert Cooper is in Iact the chieI oI the group
known as the Montauk Tribe oI Long Island as is claimed in their 'warning letter. I am prepared to
deliver irreIutable prooI to the contrary. I Iurther challenge them to provide prooI that Robert Cooper
is leading any legitimate Montaukett Iaction toward either New York or Federal recognition as the letter
claims. I am also prepared to deliver irreIutable prooI to the contrary, both in the Iorm oI certiIied
Iederal documents and testimony Irom hundreds oI Montaukett witnesses, including Iormer and present
members oI the Montauk Tribe oI Long Island group and their current legitimate leadership.
I say directly to Robert Cooper, you Iormed a splinter group and made yourselI a chieI aIter you
reIused to accept my mother's decree as the leader oI the Montaukett rejecting your request to be made
Sachem and proclaiming that I would in Iact inherit the title oI Sachem in accordance with a sacred
tradition dating back hundreds oI years. You know Iull well that this is the truth and it is easily proven.
You may think a lot oI yourselI but you simply can't change history. AIter a Iew years oI leading your
Montauk Tribe oI Long Island splinter-group, there was an election and you lost. But, you could not
accept that either, so you continue to make claims that you can't live up to. You are now living a lie, a
delusion. To continue with the truth, I am the Sachem who now represents thousands oI Montaukett.
This a reality that can easily be proven, However, you can't even prove you are still the leader oI the
small splinter group you Iounded. Your Iollowers no longer believed in you. They chose someone else
to lead them. The Iew hangers-on who Ior some reason still stick with you, represent a totally
insigniIicant Iraction oI the present-day Montaukett.
The Montaukett people are about to reverse a one-hundred year injustice and they will not
allow your vanity to sour that day oI glory and repentance. We have the truth on our side. We have the
overwhelming numbers on our side. II you continue to present your Iallacies in the public arena, you
are in Ior a great embarrassment. I am not looking Ior conIrontation, but I will live up to my
responsibilities and deIend the rights oI the Montaukett no matter where I have to go, or what I have to
do. I will not allow anyone's delusions oI grandeur to destroy the dreams oI the people I love and who I
have sworn to serve and unlike you, as you are about to discover, I am Iar Irom alone in that
sentiment.
Sincerely and Resolutely,
Robert Wyandance Pharaoh
Sachem oI the Montaukett