Pelted from a variety of sources, such as Connecticut Governor Dannel P. Malloy that it wasn’t giving the public enough time to comment on proposed changes for how new tribes are recognized by the federal government, the Bureau of Indian Affairs last week extended the period for public comment on the new regulations 60 days until September 30.
The original comment period scheduled to end July 30.
Kevin Washburn, head of the BIA, said the goal of the new regulations is to make it easier and less costly for tribes to be recognized; to retain rigor but become more predictable. “We’ve heard over and over that the process is broken,” he said recently. “We’re going to do something.”
Malloy, and most members of his state’s congressional delegate still aren’t happy, however, arguing that the changes will hit his state hard and probably lead to several more Indian casinos there, from the Eastern Pequots, the Golden Hill Paugussetts and the Schaghticokes.
Malloy had earlier written, “Extending federal acknowledgement to such groups could result in land claims covering vast areas of settled land in Connecticut, clouding the title of Connecticut residents.”
The governor is requesting that the BIA hold hearings on the proposal in his state. “Given the unique and profound effect this proposed rule would have on our state, Connecticut residents deserve an opportunity to express their views in person with BIA officials, and not just as part of a 50-state teleconference,” he said in a statement.
He added, “Connecticut will not be sending official representatives to the hearings held outside of Connecticut. We urge the Bureau both to extend the comment period and to show our residents the courtesy and respect of holding a public hearing in Connecticut.”
The new rules give some tribes whose earlier claims were rejecting a “new bite at the apple,” although only if groups who opposed their original claim agree.
Most tribes support the new rules, and many say they don’t go far enough it making it easier to achieve recognition. Some want to set a time limit on the process, so that tribes don’t have to wait years and years for an answer to their request.
At a recent gathering in Massachusetts, Cedric Cromwell, chairman of the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe, which achieved recognition in 2007 after 30 years of trying, commented, “There’s something wrong when a process takes more than a generation to complete.” His tribe is one of 17 that achieved recognition during the 35 years the process has been in force. In the great majority of cases tribes have been recognized by acts of Congress.
Tribal leaders in particular object to the part of the process that gives “third parties,” the ability to kill a reapplication.
“It would be next to impossible for us to re-apply if this proposal goes through,” said one tribal leader.
However, Michelle Littlefield, a resident of Taunton, Massachusetts, where the Mashpees seek federal permission to put land into trust, says people who oppose off-reservation proposals need protection also. She told the Boston Herald, “The current process was not intended to create a tribal existence where none had existed. It is meant to protect the integrity of the historical Native American tribes that have an honored place in our nation’s history.”
