Report alleges Gover misdeed

FROM THE ARCHIVE

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JULY 10, 2000

A July 8 report by the newspaper The Hartford Courant alleges that Kevin Gover, head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, overrode the recommendations of the Branch of Acknowledgement and Research (BAR) regarding the petitions for federal recognition of two Connecticut tribes, the Eastern Pequot and the Paucatuck Eastern Pequot.

The Courant obtained a memo dated March 16 of this year in which Gover recognizes the alleged failure for the two tribes to meet two criteria under the federal recognition guidelines. The criteria in question are the maintenance of political and social continuity.

"I understand the evidentiary gaps that appear in the historical record, but I believe the extraordinarily long period of documented history overcomes these problems," writes Gover in the memo.

Gover issued a preliminary finding in favor of recognition for the tribes later in the month. The newspaper quotes Kay Davis, a former BAR staff member, who states that "Until Kevin Gover, nobody went against BAR."

The towns of Ledyard, North Stonington, and Preston have consistently opposed federal recognition of the tribes. Robert Congdon, Preston First Selectman, said his town has been researching the two tribes for at least the past two years and their researchers came to the conclusion that they do not satisfy the federal recognition criteria, a finding he believes Gover overrode.

"I don't think Gover's stance is doing justice to the legitimate tribes any more to us," said Congdon. "The [recognition] process should be directed by Congress and should not be arbitrary or capricious."

Congdon and the other towns will be present at a July 28 meeting with the BIA to discuss the petitions of the tribes. The meeting is a formal one requested by Connecticut state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, who himself has requested an immediate halt to the BIA's ability to recognize tribes.

Blumenthal and the towns have called for Gover to step down from the recognition process for the two tribes. They believe Gover has relaxed the recognition rules in order to benefit one of his former clients, the Golden Hill Paugussett Tribe.

A decision from the BIA is expected soon on the Paugussett. Gover has recused himself from the decision making process on their petition.

In a letter to the The New London Day on July 9, the leaders of the three towns also called on the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation to produce records regarding their genealogy and the 1983 Mashantucket Pequot Settlement Act. The towns are calling on Congress to conduct a probe of the tribe, believing the Act gave the tribe more land than its land claims required.