URL: https://www.indianz.com/News/archives/002976.asp

Friday, December 12, 2003

The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation of Connecticut has banished several tribal members over the years, The New London Day reports.

The power to banish is held by the Mashantucket Elders Council. Elders wouldn't discuss the policy, but other tribal members said members can be banished if they have been convicted of felonies or pose a threat to the tribe.

The Day cites a recent case in which a member was banished after being convicted of three sexual assaults. One was against an 8-year-old tribal member.

Banishment is one of the inherent powers of a sovereign. Robert Odawi Porter, a member of the Seneca Nation of New York and a professor at Syracuse University, says the federal courts have sided with tribes in banishment cases. He said there was one case, in the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, that challenged the Seneca Nation's banishment of some tribal members. Currently, some members of the Oneida Nation are challenging an eviction order issued by the tribe.

Get the Story:
Banishment Can Be Ultimate Punishment For Tribal Members (The New London Day 12/12)

All stories in the Indianz.Com Archive are available for publishing under a Creative Commons License: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)