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THURSDAY, JULY 12, 2001

Former Assistant Secretary Kevin Gover wanted his staff to deny recognition to two Pequot tribes in Connecticut last year, but changed his mind just one month later, according to Bureau of Indian Affairs researcher George Roth.

In February 2000, Roth said Gover wanted the Eastern Pequot Tribe and the Eastern Pequot Tribe to be denied acknowledgment. Without offering any explanations, he changed his mind and signed a decision extending prelminary recognition to both.

Loretta Tuell, the former Director of the Office of American Indian Trust, is said to have talked with a BIA lawyer on the outcomes of federal recognition decisions, although which particular ones is not known.

It is also not clear whether Tuell influenced any decision while at the trust office or when she was designated a top level oficial at the BIA during the final days of the Clinton administration, although The New London Day, without much supporting reporting except that the lawyer and Tuell have worked with gaming tribes, suggests casino backers played a role.

Tuell and former Deputy Assistant Secretary Michael Anderson are now both employed at Monteau & Peebles, a Washington, DC, law firm.

Get the Story:
Attorney general, tribes, towns listen to BIA call (The Norwich Bulletin 7/12)
Recognition process was flawed, new data hints (The New London Day 7/12)

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