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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2002

The Schaghticoke Tribal Nation of Connecticut was denied federal recognition today by the Bush administration.

Assistant Secretary Neal McCaleb issued a preliminary finding against acknowledgment for the 300-member state-recognized tribe. Bureau of Indian Affairs staff said the Schaghticoke petition failed to meet two out of seven mandatory criteria -- community and political authority -- from historical times to the present.

According to a BIA statement, the tribe failed to show evidence from the 1800s to 1875 and from 1885 to 1967 with regard to political authority or influence. The state's continuous recognition of the tribe since the 1600s was not a substitute for the gaps in the record, the BIA said.

The BIA statement also said the tribe failed to meet the definition of a community between 1940 and 1967 and from 1996 to the present. Researchers said the tribe's current membership excludes some of those who were part of the tribe from the 1960s to the 1990s and that one-third of the current membership descends from a family that has only recently been involved in tribal affairs.

Get the Story:
McCaleb Proposes to Decline Schaghticoke Acknowledgment (BIA 12/5)
Tribe denied federal recognition in preliminary ruling (AP 12/5)
Schaghticokes Denied Federal Recognition (The Hartford Courant 12/5)

Relevant Links;
Schaghticoke Tribal Nation - http://www.schaghticoke.com

Related Stories:
Conn. tribe awaits recognition ruling (12/4)
Recognition decision expected this week (12/2)
McCaleb plans to issue recognition ruling (11/26)
McCaleb ruling holds promise for state tribes (06/25)
McCaleb makes recognition history (6/25)
BIA project consumes recognition resources (06/12)
BIA recognition staff fails pressure test (05/31)
State challenges Schaghticoke Tribe (04/19)
Tribe's recognition delayed (02/20)
Conn. tribe waiting on recognition (01/23)