Jay Wright has lofty goals for Little Beach Harvest as a business venture, but he also believes the tribally owned cannabis company can be a cultural inspiration and a force for further destigmatizing cannabis.
“Our goal is really to make our community stronger,” he says. “I want other tribes that are wanting to get into this kind of venture to see us and say, ‘If they can do it, we can do it too.’”
Little Beach Harvest was the first tribally owned cannabis business in the region. As the company’s product marketing manager, Wright helps shape the brand’s identity through product sourcing, brand strategy, event coordination and tribal relations.
“As someone who is part of this tribe and someone who has been here from the ground up,” he says, “this business is extremely important to me as far as what I see our people as a nation being capable of doing and leaning more into the business world and setting an example for our future generations. It’s not really for myself. It’s for the future generations.”
Because it’s owned and operated by the Shinnecock Nation, Little Beach Harvest has certain advantages over other New York cannabis companies, such as the ability to be vertically integrated.
Wright’s goal for the remainder of 2025 is to push Little Beach Harvest to the next level in terms of revenue and spread the brand even further into the New York market.
“We’re making noise, but I want to get our products into other shops and get our products into the world because we have a good thing here,” he says.
Wright works closely with Little Beach Harvest brand specialist Sean Boyd.
“Jay is a boots-on-the-ground, 24-hours-a-day man,” Boyd says. “He’s the superstar, and I’m just here to facilitate.”