Editorial: Judge made right call on Eastern Pequot recognition

Monday, April 15, 2013  

Newspaper says federal recognition for Eastern Pequot Tribal Nation would have hurt local communities in Connecticut:

A federal judge recently dismissed a lawsuit by the Eastern Pequot Tribe that sought to reinstate its federal recognition. The tribe received federal recognition in 2002, but the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs rescinded it in 2005.

We are grateful that the court has denied the appeal. Recognition would have allowed the tribe to take its Lantern Hill Road property in North Stonington off the town’s tax rolls, and develop it without the approval of town boards. That would have not only hurt the town financially; it had the potential to change the character of the town.

Get the Story:
EDITORIAL: Denial of tribal recognition a good thing (The Westerly Sun 4/14)

District Court Decision:
Historic Eastern Pequots v. Salazar (March 31, 2013)

Eastern Pequot group loses ruling in federal recognition lawsuit (04/01)