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Pequot Tribe To Take Over Connecticut
SUNDAY, APRIL 1, 2001 
Mashantucket Pequot Chairman Kenneth Reels reflects on tribe's big purchases. | MASHANTUCKET, CT -- Confirming the fears of local leaders and Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation on Friday announced they have asked the Department of Interior to take the entire state of Connecticut into trust. "This is a historic day for us," said Chairman Kenneth "Kenny" Reels. "From this day on, we shall refer to this state by its traditional name Quinnehtukqut, which means 'Belongs to Pequots' in our language." A land-into-trust application for all 5,018 square miles of the Constitution State was faxed to the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Washington, DC, late Friday, a spokeswoman confirmed. It asks Secretary of Interior Gale Norton to annex the land "as soon as possible, to allow the Pequot Tribe to provide for its future and economic well-being." The leaders of the towns of Ledyard, North Stonington, and Preston weren't pleased with the tribe's action. Oddly enough, however, they failed to notice that over the past five years, the tribe had purchased every remaining parcel of land not already owned by the federal government, other state-recognized tribes, or the state itself. "Yes, we were blind-sided," Preston First Selectman Robert Congdon told Indian Country Tomorrow. "But our ignorance doesn't justify what they have done. Why do they need all this land?" 
Attorney General Richard Blumenthal vows fight. | About five years ago, the towns and Blumenthal filed suit against the government for agreeing to take 165 acres of land into trust for the financially successful tribe. And nearly three years ago, the towns began fighting the federal recognition efforts of two other Pequot tribes. It now appears the towns' focus on the two issues afforded the Mashantucket Tribe an enormous opportunity to fulfill even bigger goals without too much scrutiny. But tribal laywer Jackson T. King feared his client's plan would be thwarted when the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals last fall ruled against the towns. "In that decision, the court theorized the tribe could seek to take the entire southeastern region of the state into trust," King recalled to Indian Country Tomorrow. "Surely, we thought the towns' top-notch legal team would figure something was up." "I guess this proves you can spend millions and millions of taxpayer dollars and still lose," he added. In a hastily convened press conference, Blumenthal on Saturday said he would fight the tribe's petition. But Indian Country Tomorrow has learned he won't be spending too much time on it as he is planning to run for Governor and intends to solicit the tribe for campaign contributions.
© 2001 Indian Country Tomorrow
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