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APRIL 4, 2001

Connecticut's Golden Hill Tribe Sues Bureau of Indian Affairs To Put Federal Recognition of Tribe Back on Track

The Golden Hill Tribe, a Connecticut Indian tribe officially recognized by the Connecticut government for more than 350 years, has filed suit against the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Washington, DC to force the BIA to finally decide the tribe's federal recognition petition.

The suit seeks to put BIA's consideration of Golden Hill's petition for federal recognition back on track after more than a year of political delays. A number of other tribes, both in Connecticut and in other states, have filed similar claims in recent months. According to Golden Hill's longstanding Chief Quiet Hawk, Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal's persistent attacks against Connecticut's recognized tribes has forced the tribes into a "race to the courthouse" to protect their rights to federal recognition, which is necessary for the tribes to be eligible for federal health, education and economic development programs.

The Golden Hill Tribe has been recognized by Connecticut on a continuous basis since the 17th Century, and enjoys strong support from its Bridgeport-area neighbors. Since the tribe originally began its pursuit of federal recognition in 1982, its petition has been repeatedly delayed by procedural abuses. BIA's first preliminary decision to deny the petition was reversed by the U.S. Department of the Interior in 1999, because BIA had failed to follow its own regulations, or to consider the tribe's evidence demonstrating its right to federal acknowledgement. BIA was required to issue a new decision in March 2000, but failed to do so. Throughout the past year, BIA set three separate schedules for deciding Golden Hill's petition - and missed them all.

Chief Quiet Hawk, whose family has led the Golden Hill tribe for generations, is confident the tribe will obtain federal acknowledgement, once BIA completes review of the tribe's petition. Under BIA's longstanding precedent, the documented governmental relations between Connecticut and its recognized tribes dating back to the Colonial period provides much of the evidence needed to show that these tribes should also be recognized by the federal government.

The problem is not with the evidence, it is with BIA's delay in reviewing it, the tribe argues in its complaint. As a number of officials have pointed out, this delay has been largely caused by Attorney General Blumenthal's politically motivated obstruction. Connecticut Governor John Rowland recently described the situation by stating: "Number one, it's great politics for Dick Blumenthal and that's what it's all about. . . . He's having a political game, and he's beating up on (Connecticut's recognized tribes)."

Many Connecticut tribes, including the Eastern Pequot, the Paucatuck Eastern Pequot and the Schaghticoke, as well as tribes from other parts of the country, have been forced to litigate to protect their rights to federal recognition. With BIA's decision on the Golden Hill petition now more than a year overdue, Chief Quiet Hawk said the tribe had no choice but to go to court as well.

Please call if you would like a copy of the 14-page complaint, filed April 3rd in Federal District Court in the District of Columbia, or would like to speak with Evan van Hook of the law firm of Sidley & Austin, which represents the Golden Hill Tribe.

CONTACT:

Allan Ripp for Sidley & Austin

212/721-7468

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Tribe sues BIA for recognition (4/4)