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AUGUST 15, 2000

In a letter addressed to the Connecticut state Congressional delegation, Assistant Secretary of Interior Kevin Gover says the Bureau of Indian Affairs didn't have to tell three towns of a cut-off date in submitting documentation about two Pequot tribes.

Gover said the cut-off was justified because any documentation sent after the date will still be considered by the BIA when it makes a final determination on the federal recognition status of the Eastern Pequot and Paucatuck Eastern Pequot tribes.

The issue was one of concern raised by the state last week during a two-day meeting discussing the tribes' petitions.

Virginia DeMarce, a BIA researcher, told the state that she instituted the April 15, 1999, cut-off date due to the amount of documentation being sent by the towns of Ledyard, North Stonington, and Preston.

"Enough is enough," said DeMarce on Tuesday.

DeMarce said she had become "skeptical" of the information being sent by the towns, believing it was an effort to keep her from doing her job. She asked for the cut-off date in order to get back to work on the petition.

When asked by representatives of the state why the towns were not told of the date, DeMarce said to chalk it up to "human incompetence."

Regardless of the cut-off date, DeMarce also said the documentation sent by the towns as of that date was unreliable and unusable. Accusing the towns of shoddy research, she said they mispresented genealogical data of Eastern Pequot ancestors.

DeMarce uncovered the error after checking up on the towns' research, she said.

Nicholas Mullane, a town official, said the BIA has not used 60 percent of documentation they sent. DeMarce and George Roth, another researcher, said they will consider any evidence submitted after the date as part of the final determination for the two tribes.

Relevant Links:
The Bureau of Indian Affairs - www.doi.gov/bureau-indian-affairs.html
Eastern Pequot Preliminary Recognition - www.doi.gov/bia/bar/epdx.htm
Paucatuck Eastern Pequot Preliminary Recognition - www.doi.gov/bia/bar/pepdx.htm

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