A terse notice posted by the Department of Interior on its web site at 11:15 a.m. gives no rationale for the reversal, saying only that after “further consultations with the Tribe,” the East Windsor gambling amendment is approved.
Bureau of Indian Affairs
Posted inPolitics
Inspector General investigating Interior’s handling of CT tribes’ casino issue
The Interior Department’s official watchdog on Monday confirmed it is investigating why the agency rebuffed a request by Connecticut tribes to approve changes to its gaming compact needed to win state support for a new casino in East Windsor.
Posted inEconomic Development, Politics
Tribes’ lawyers tell Interior it must accept casino deal
Two national law firms representing the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribal nations pressed the federal government Tuesday with a letter insisting the Interior secretary has no choice but to approve their gaming agreements with Connecticut and clear the way for them to jointly develop a commercial casino in East Windsor.
Posted inPolitics
Connecticut moves closer to construction of a third casino
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and tribal leaders signed documents Thursday amending Connecticut’s relationship with its two federally recognized tribes, another step toward allowing them to jointly develop a casino in the Hartford suburb of East Windsor, as authorized in legislation approved last month by the General Assembly.
Posted inPolitics
Mohegans play host to tribes, Interior secretary at pivotal time
UNCASVILLE — Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, the face of a Trump administration whose approach to the federal budget and its oversight of Indian country is skeptically viewed by many tribes, was welcomed here Tuesday by Connecticut’s two federally recognized tribes as an ally in their casino fight with MGM Resorts International.
Posted inPolitics
Tribes get BIA letter helpful to their bid for a third casino
A Trump administration official says the election of President Trump and arrival of new leaders at the Department of the Interior have not changed advice given a year ago in a technical assistance letter: A commercial casino operated by Connecticut’s two federally recognized tribes would not jeopardize their revenue sharing deal with the state.
Posted inPolitics
Golden Hill Paugussetts say they will try for recognition again
WASHINGTON — The Golden Hill Paugussett tribe of Trumbull is preparing to seek federal recognition again, a classification that would bring the tribe special federal help and the right to open a casino and press land claims.
Posted inPolitics
MGM uses Obama interior secretary to fight new tribal casino
Lobbyists for MGM Resorts International made a well-timed play Tuesday in their fight to stop a new tribal casino in Connecticut, delivering a warning from former Interior Secretary Kenneth Salazar that the proposal would jeopardize the state’s revenue-sharing agreement with the Mashantucket Pequots and Mohegans. The tribes dismissed Salazar as a paid consultant.
Posted inNews
Connecticut tribe says it has made federal bid, hopes for casino
WASHINGTON — The Schaghticoke Indian Tribe of Kent says it filed a voluminous petition for federal recognition with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, a bid it hopes will result in the rights to open a casino in the Danbury area. But Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., who has fought efforts by tribes to win acknowledgement, called the effort “frivolous.”
Posted inPolitics
North Stonington selectman helps GOP lawmakers push Indian recognition bill
WASHINGTON– Nicholas Mullane, a longtime Republican selectman for the town of North Stonington, on Wednesday helped bolster a GOP bill would strip the Obama administration of its authority to recognize Indian tribes.
Posted inNews
U.S. denies CT tribes chance at federal recognition
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs has moved to make it easier for tribes across the nation to win federal recognition – while blocking several Connecticut tribes from doing so. That drew praise from Connecticut’s politicians.
Posted inNews
BIA takes heat from CT lawmakers, others on Indian recognition
Updated at 8:48 p.m.
WASHINGTON – Kevin Washburn, the head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, hinted Wednesday he may have eliminated a provision in new tribal recognition rules that would stymie efforts by several Connecticut tribes to seek federal status.
Posted inPolitics
Attorney General to legislators: Casino expansion poses legal risks
Attorney General George Jepsen warned top legislators Wednesday that legislation giving the Mashantucket Pequots and Mohegans exclusive rights to a new casino was itself a gamble, potentially endangering the current profit-sharing deal with the tribes and exposing the state to claims of illegal favoritism.
Posted inMoney, Politics
Blumenthal: Effort to block recognition of CT tribes faces challenges
WASHINGTON – Rules under consideration that would make it easier for Indian tribes to win federal recognition have a carve-out aimed at denying that status to several Connecticut tribes, but Sen. Richard Blumenthal has joined others in saying the provision may be unconstitutional.
Posted inPolitics
Connecticut presses BIA to scrap Indian recognition proposal
WASHINGTON — The administration of Gov. Dannel Malloy has asked the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs to scrap proposed rules changes the state believes could lead to recognition of additional Indian tribes in the state.