The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation of Connecticut, is supporting a tribal member who is challenging state taxation.

Jo-Ann Dark Eyes is claiming an exemption because she derived her income as a tribal official while living on fee land within the tribe's settlement reservation. She could receive a refund of about $150,000, The New London Day reports.

A judge ruled against Dark Eyes but the case has now been sent to the state Supreme Court. The tribe is joining, citing similar arguments made in the Oneida Nation and Cayuga Nation cases in New York.

In those cases, the courts ruled that tribal land purchases within a former reservation are considered Indian Country, free from state and local laws. The Mashantucket Tribe says its fee land purchases within the settlement reservation should be treated the same even if they aren't held in trust.

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Mashantucket Tax Appeal Goes Directly To High Court (The New London Day 5/20)
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