The gradual decline in Indigenous authority reached a critical point when it led to the formal obliteration of acknowledgement for many tribes. A poignant example of this phenomenon occurred in 1910, when a legal decree by the Judiciary of New York pronounced the Montaukett "tribe" extinct, ignoring the presence and testimonies of its members in court. Such decrees were used to facilitate the encroachment on Native American lands with greater ease, granting legal legitimacy to the acts of settler colonialism. In the absence of legally recognized Indigenous territories, settlers could assert ownership over Native lands without engaging in negotiations or offering compensation. This act represented the final stage in the thorough domination and displacement of Native American communities on Long Island.