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FRIDAY, AUGUST 10, 2001

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal and three towns have submitted documentation challenging the federal acknowledgment of two Pequot tribes on the grounds that the state's historical relationship with them matters little.

The Eastern Pequot Tribe has been state-recognized since the 1600s. Two petitioning groups are claiming to be the successors of the tribe and both received preliminary federal recognition in March 2000.

In his decision, then-Assistant Secretary Kevin Gover said the long relationship between the state and the tribe filled in for deficiencies in submitted evidence. Blumenthal and the towns say the relationship was nothing more than a ward-guardian one and should carry no weight.

The state and the towns also claim the current tribal membership of both tribes does not descend from the historic Eastern Pequot Tribe.

New Assistant Secretary Neal McCaleb is set to issue a final determination on the tribes in December. He could accept one, both, or neither.

Get the Story:
State, towns claim history backs their anti-recognition argument (The New London Day 8/10)

Get Recognition Documents:
Eastern Pequot | Paucatuck Eastern Pequot

Relevant Links:
Branch of Acknowledgment and Research - http://www.doi.gov/bia/ack_res.html

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Towns criticize Eastern Pequot Tribe (8/1)
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