Schaghticokes may get another chance in recognition case

Friday, July 8, 2005 | 9:15 a.m.

NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- The Schaghticoke Tribal Nation, which appeared to be losing in its effort to win federal recognition and build a casino in Bridgeport, may get another chance to prove the tribe existed in the mid-19th century.

The federal Bureau of Indian Affairs, in a surprising reversal, now wants to allow the Kent-based Schaghticokes to submit new evidence on Indian-to-Indian marriages during that era. The evidence would be key because there has been little proof so far that the Schaghticokes lived as a tribe during that period.

Federal recognition would allow the Schaghticokes to pursue their plans to open Connecticut's third Indian-run casino. It also would give the tribe access to federal funding for education, health care and housing.

The BIA granted the Schaghticokes federal recognition in January 2004, but the Interior Board of Indian Appeals overturned that decision on May 12 and sent the issue back to the BIA for reconsideration. The appeals board, acting on an appeal by state and Kent officials, said the BIA was wrong to rely on state recognition to compensate for periods for which additional evidence was lacking.

The Schaghticokes have had a state reservation since the mid-1700s and have been seeking federal recognition since 1981.