Federal recognition issues draws state and local officials in Connecticut

Denise Lavoie

Thursday, Sept. 14, 2000 | 4:02 a.m.

SHELTON, Conn. - If an American Indian casino is built in Bridgeport, the increased traffic could cause all-day gridlock on Interstate 95, a traffic consultant predicted Thursday.

The traffic estimate was given to more than 200 state and local officials who packed Shelton City Hall to talk about the potential impact of a casino in Fairfield County.

The Golden Hill Paugussett tribe has applied for federal recognition in the hopes of building a casino in Bridgeport.

The proposal is unpopular among many officials from surrounding suburbs, mainly because of concern about increased traffic on I-95 in Fairfield County, a stretch of highway that is already notorious for its long traffic jams.

"What we're going to have is 10 hours of bumper-to-bumper traffic," said Georges Jacquemart, a traffic consultant hired by the Southwest Regional Planning Agency.

Jacquemart said he has only recently begun his traffic study on the possible impacts of a Paugussett casino. But he said he used numbers from a study his firm did five years ago, when another proposal for a Bridgeport casino was debated, to estimate the impact of a Paugussett casino.

On Fridays, when gridlock is regularly seen on I-95 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., the casino traffic could cause jams as early as 11 a.m. and continue until 9 p.m., Jacquemart said.

"A big mess," he said.

The forum, hosted by State Attorney General Richard Blumenthal and state Senate Majority Leader George Jepsen, D-Stamford, drew so many officials concerned about casinos that the crowd overflowed into the hallway.

Officials from the towns surrounding the Mashantucket Pequot tribe's highly successful Foxwoods casino in southeastern Connecticut also attended. They told their counterparts from southwestern Connecticut that property values of homes nearest the casino had declined because of the heavy traffic.

Representatives of the Paugussetts were invited to talk about their plans for a Bridgeport casino, but declined. The tribe's petition for federal recognition is expected to be decided upon by the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs sometime next year.

Blumenthal told the crowd that he has proposed a moratorium on recognition decisions until the current process by the BIA can be reformed. Critics contend that the agency has relaxed or ignored criteria needed to receive recognition for some Indian tribes.

Blumenthal said federal recognition gives a tribe sovereign status, takes its land off the tax rolls, and puts the tribe beyond the law enforcement powers of both the state and federal government.

"These issues are not about being for or against casinos. They are not about being for or against Native Americans," Blumenthal said. "This issue is much larger than a casino."

Richard Velky, the leader of the Schaghticoke tribe, was the lone voice speaking for American Indian tribes.

He told the crowd that his tribe, which has about 300 members and a 400-acre reservation in Kent, submitted its application for recognition in 1994. But Velky said the tribe expects to wait another decade or longer for a decision because the BIA process is so slow and there are 150 other tribes across the country seeking recognition.

"It's extremely frustrating," he said.

Velky said his tribe hopes to build a casino in either Fairfield or New Haven county. He said the tribe already has a financial backer, whom he would not disclose.

Velky says the Paugussetts have claimed some Schaghticoke ancestors as their own to increase their chances of gaining recognition. The Paugussetts have denied the claim.