"What's befallen the Eastern Pequots, however, is an entirely different situation. It's not about hooking their lineage to a star, Native or otherwise, for fun or for pride.

I have plenty of problems with the whole sovereign nation set-up, which I won't detail (again) here. Granted, some tribal latecomers may seek the federal seal of approval on their Indian identity primarily for the money.

But for those who hung onto that hardscrabble piece of reservation land, I'm inclined to believe identity trumps all else, and that blood is but a drop in the bucket.

With or without federal recognition, the Eastern Pequots are still a state-recognized tribe. Since that doesn't allow them to open a casino, no one has any inclination to take it away from them. You could say their identity remains intact.

But the fact that their Mashantucket and Mohegan neighbors are federally recognized, and they're not, consigns them to secondary status."

Get the Story:
Bethe Dufresne: Federal Recognition Is Irrelevant To Indian Identity (The New London Day 11/11)
pwday

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