The Obama administration has made its first decision on a federal recognition petition.

The Interior Department said today that the Brothertown Indian Nation of Wisconsin doesn't qualify for federal status. A press release said the tribe failed to meet five out of seven mandatory criteria for recognition.

"Therefore, the department proposes to decline to acknowledge the Brothertown petitioner," the press release stated.

In considering the petition, the Bureau of Indian Affairs agreed that the tribe was previously recognized by the federal government. "The evidence in the record indicates that a Senate proviso to a Treaty of 1831, a Treaty of 1832 and an Act of 1839 constitute 'unambiguous previous federal acknowledgment' of the Brothertown Indian tribe of Wisconsin," the press release said.

But the BIA said the tribe lost its federal status 170 years ago. "Congress, in the Act of 1839, brought federal recognition of the relationship with the Brothertown Indian tribe of Wisconsin to an end. By expressly denying the Brothertown of Wisconsin any federal recognition of a right to act as a tribal political entity, Congress has forbidden the Federal Government from acknowledging the Brothertown as a government and from having a government-to-government relationship with the Brothertown as an Indian tribe," the press release stated.

Only Congress can restore a tribe to federal status.

The decision today opens a 180-day comment period on the petition. Once that ends, the tribe will have 60 days to respond.

Assistant secretary Larry EchoHawk did not participate in the decision. He recused himself on the petition and has taken himself out of some recognition matters due to the involvement of the Native American Rights Fund, where his brother, John, serves as executive director.

NARF has assisted the Brothertown Nation, according to the BIA.

The tribe is made up of descendants of Pequots, Mohegans and other Indians who left New England in the late 1700s. They initially lived in New York among the Oneida Nation but were eventually removed to Wisconsin in the 1800s.

Relevant Documents:
Status Summary of Acknowledgment Cases (September 2008)

Related Stories:
Brothertown Nation still waiting on recognition (7/24)
Brothertown Nation awaits recognition ruling (7/20)