Senator challenges recognition of tribes

Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2001 | 11:20 a.m.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

HARTFORD, Conn. -- Sen. Christopher Dodd said Monday the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs' tribal recognition process is fundamentally flawed.

Dodd also called on U.S. Interior Secretary Gale Norton to suspend the preliminary recognition granted to two tribes in eastern Connecticut, saying the Eastern Pequot and Paucatuck Eastern Pequot tribes failed to meet federal criteria in two of six categories.

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal has sued the Interior Department, charging that the federal process for recognizing the Eastern Pequot and Paucatuck Eastern Pequot tribes was rife with irregularities.

Blumenthal, joined by the towns of Ledyard, North Stonington and Preston, has filed suit to block final federal recognition of the tribes, a move that would allow them to make land claims, establish their own law enforcement and operate casinos in Connecticut.

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