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JANUARY 19, 2001

Connecticut Attorney Richard Blumenthal on Thursday filed suit against the Department of Interior, seeking to block the pending federal recognition of two Pequot tribes in the state.

The lawsuit criticizes actions made by the now-departed head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Kevin Gover. Blumenthal and others in the state have criticized Gover for making a decision on the Eastern Pequot and Paucatuck Eastern Pequot Tribes that would favorably affect a former client.

The tribes were extended preliminary recognition in March 2000. A comment period on the tribes' petitions was extended to March of this year after requests made by Blumenthal.

After the period closes, the tribes would have a chance to respond to comments and the Bureau would then make a final determination. Although the BIA in the past has reversed a negative finding into a positive determination, most recently with the Chinook decision, the opposite has never occurred.

The suit was filed in US District Court in Connecticut. The court's decision favoring a lawsuit filed by the state and three towns against the Interior was overturned by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals last fall.

The three towns -- Ledyard, North Stonington, and Preston -- have joined the state in the suit.

Get the Story:
Blumenthal, towns fight BIA rulings (The New London Day 1/19)
Attorney general sues federal government over Indian recognition process (AP 1/18)