Opinion: Equal rights for the Narragansett Tribe

Tuesday, March 2, 2004  

"In this time of celebrating diversity and equal rights for all, I cannot help but feel a growing frustration towards the governor’s recent public opposition to a Narragansett Indian casino. I grow more disappointed and angry with certain Rhode Island politicians who still choose to ignore the unique past and recent history of the Narragansett Indian tribe, a group of people who, like African-Americans, have historically fallen victim to discrimination and disparate treatment.

Why have many Rhode Islanders forgotten how their English ancestors warred with a people who helped many colonists survive in a foreign world? Why does there appear to be no remorse for stripping a native people of their land, throwing tribal members into indentured servitude and then illegally abolishing the tribe’s very existence?"

Get the Story:
Chief Sachem Matthew Thomas: Narragansetts deserve their dream (The Woonsocket Call 3/2)