Posted on 08/25/2013 11:24:00 AM PDT by Olog-hai
His tribe once controlled huge swaths of what is now New York and Connecticut, but the shrunken reservation presided over by Alan Russell today hosts little more than four mostly-dilapidated homes and a pair of rattlesnake dens.
The Schaghticoke Indian Tribe leader believes its fortunes may soon be improving. As the U.S. Interior Department overhauls its rules for recognizing American Indian tribes, a nod from the federal government appears within reach, potentially bolstering its claims to surrounding land and opening the door to a tribal-owned casino.
Its the future generations were fighting for, Russell said.
The rules floated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, intended to streamline the approval process, are seen by some as lowering the bar through changes such as one requiring that tribes demonstrate political continuity since 1934 and not first contact with European settlers. Across the country, the push is setting up battles with host communities and already-recognized tribes who fear upheaval.
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The Associated Press used the word ‘Indian’?
I thought that if you say that you get arrested or something.
Having Pocohantas Warran as a senator does not hurt this cause either.
I only have one question — will my family be forcibly re-located back to Europe?
No, that would be Redskins’..
I wonder if this is going to push recognition of the Lumbee tribe. The Lumbee do not want special recognition, I suspect because they do not want to go on to a FedGov mandated reservation. In this case I refer to reservation as having to accept conditions for taking government money. The Lumbee are doing quite well without government help.
The whole Indian reservation thing is just stupid. They have no claim to any US soil, they lost. Get over it.
***bolstering its claims to surrounding land and opening the door to a tribal-owned casino***
WE HAVE A WINNAH! There are several so-called Cherokee offshoots desiring tribal recognition so they can get their land classified as a “reservation” just so they can build a casino!
One “tribe” offshoot wants to build a casino on land that their tribe never occupied, near Hot Springs, Arkansas.
Hot Springs used to have all sorts of illegal gambling back in the early 1960s.
Never heard of that tribe. What casino do they operate?
Forget about Indian lands with one tribe seeking recognition by the Federal government. The inevitable next step here will be competing claims for the same land by multiple “tribes.”
Pass the popcorn....this one is going to be nasty....and I mean intra-tribal nasty. The fighting that already takes place because of casino land and money is bad enough. This will only make it worse. Moreover, the local communities will not be happy at losing land that they have controlled for hundreds of years. This will not end well. It will make a bunch of lawyers happy and rich
apparently you have not read your US history. There are multiple treaties that were signed and approved that say otherwise
Yeah, I've thought about that, being Scot-Irish(which is really Scot)Irish and German, just where would they send me? Probably Scotland since that is the bulk of my ancestry. Red/blondish hair and blue eyes abound among my relatives.Before someone says "Blonde hair, blue eyes, that sounds German!", I will say that my German ancestors(the ones still alive) are all dark haired light eyed, not a blonde among them.I believe my(German) ancestors came from the state of Hess.
An Indian casino? What a novel idea! [/s]
Seriously, does anyone still go to those?
If you want to read a fascinating book on Indian tribe's scams, I highly recommend Without Reservation: The Making of America's Most Powerful Indian Tribe and Foxwoods the World's Largest Casino which tells the story of the "rebirth" of the NE Pequots and how it led to the establishing of the highly successful and lucrative Foxwoods casino.
The Lumbee are a tribe in North Carolina. As far as casinos, I don’t know. They do have some local banks, some local companies, and on the whole doing a lot better than the tribes that stay on reservation land.
One well known person of Lumbee descent is Heather Locklear, who is also a conservative.
Most indian tribes (with a few notable exceptions) sided with the British in the American Revolution.
They are luckily we still allowed to live in America once the war was over - let alone get ANYTHING from this government.
When will the poor taxpaying working stiff be recognized?
Good, I could never get the hang of recognizing which ones were Sioux or Apache or Cherokee.
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