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JULY 17, 2000

In a column published in The New London Day on July 15, Jeff Benedict, author of Without Reservation, advocates "tampering" with state and federal laws in order to strip the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation of Connecticut of their federal recognition.

Benedict essentially justifies the action by writing that the tribe is already the product of "significant tampering with laws." Benedict does not state which laws have been tampered nor provide proof of how the laws might have been violated.

His book, however, suggests the 1983 Mashantucket Pequot Settlement Act, which granted the tribe federal recognition and settled their outstanding land claims, is the source of the violations. He writes:

Unbeknownst to Congress, the Settlement Act violated the federal law Congress had created to govern the recognition of tribes. Under Section 83 of the United States Code titled "Procedures for Establishing That an American Indian Group Exists as an Indian Tribe," Congress identified six "mandatory criteria" for petitioners. (pp. 144-145)

The federal recognition guidelines are agency regulations established by the Department of Interior which became effective in 1978. As noted earlier on Indianz.Com, the proper citation for the seven, not six, criteria is 25 CFR Part 83, not 5 USC 301, as Benedict cites in the book's bibliography.

By calling on Congress to act, Benedict's suggestion would in effect strip the the Mashantucket tribe of their status using a long-discontinued federal policy which has been the subject of nationwide debate due to a Washington state Republican party resolution calling for the termination of all "non-republican" tribal governments throughout the country.

Over 100 tribes were terminated by Congressional action between 1953 and 1958 in an attempt to rid the federal government and tribes of their inter-dependent relationship. The action caused many tribes to lose their land base, economic power, natural resources, and political structure.

Almost immediately, many began to seek to have their status restored, including the Menominee Nation of Wisconsin in 1973, as well as the Alabama-Coushatta of Texas, who won a land claims lawsuit against the United States in June, due in part to their formerly terminated status.

Fortunately for tribes, the policy of termination has been rescinded and today, Congress does not terminate but continues to recognize tribes via legislation. Since 1978, Congress has recognized at least seven tribes.

But Benedict doesn't only suggest the Mashantucket be terminated. Among his other recommendations:

Admit Congress was wrong in enacting the 1983 Mashantucket Pequot Settlement Act, which granted the tribe federal recognition and quieted the tribe's outstanding land claims
Reduce their reservation to approximately 1000 acres
Impose state, federal, and local taxes on Foxwoods
Establish a trust fund whereby Foxwoods profits would go to "needy tribes"

The Mashantucket have been state recognized since the 17th century. Their reservation in Groton was slowly whittled away by the state, with just 214 acres left in 1973 from its original 2000 acres.

Read the Column:
Jeff Benedict: Don't compromise on tribal issues; truth and justice still matter (The New London Day 7/15)