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MAY 24, 2000

The Connecticut towns of Ledyard, North Stonington, and Preston aren't going to receive much help from the Bureau of Indian Affairs over their opposition to the federal recognition of the Eastern Pequot and the Paucatuck Eastern Pequot tribes.

In response to the preliminary recognition of the two tribes in March, the towns asked the BIA for technical assistance. According to the towns, they have not received an answer.

They might have to wait forever, according to the BIA.

On Tuesday, BIA spokesman Rex Hackler said the towns "are not petitioners and we do not provide technical assistance to any interested parties," which would include the towns and the state of Connecticut.

And if there were more funding available to a staff already overburdened by hundreds of petitioning tribal entities, several court challenges, and numerous Freedom of Information Act requests, Hackler noted that "priority would go to reservations" and not to non-Indian parties.

The BIA's Branch of Acknowledgment and Research (BAR) currently has a staff of 11 researchers, including "social scientists, anthropologists, genealogists, and historians," said Hackler. The staff review petitions and make recommendations to Interior Assistant Secretary Kevin Gover.

But the towns aren't the only ones who have to deal with the limited resources of the BIA. In February, the BIA instituted recent changes (see BIA eases recognition process) to the federal acknowledgment process which limit the amount of help the BAR can provide to petitioners. Petitioners must now submit better and more complete documentation in order to satisfy the seven mandatory criteria set forth in the acknowledgment guidelines.

The BIA hopes the changes will allow them to recognize more tribes in a more timely manner.

So if the towns want to meet with the BIA, they might have better luck tagging along with state officials. On Monday, Connecticut Attorney General Mark Blumenthal requested a formal meeting with the Bureau over the two Pequot tribes' petitions.

Under the acknowledgment guidelines, the BIA will hold a formal meeting, which will be on the record and will become part of the record Gover will use before making a final determination on the two tribes' status.

Gover is among a series of witnesses appearing before the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs today to discuss federal recognition.

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