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APRIL 9, 2001

The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation of Connecticut today plans on proposing a settlement over a bitter dispute with three neighboring towns.

The dispute has political, legal, cultural, and racial overtones and touches a number of issues but its central focus is the tribe's attempt to add 165 acres of land to its reservation. The Department of Interior agreed to take the land into trust, prompting a lawsuit by Attorney General Richard Blumenthal and the towns of Ledyard, North Stonington, and Preston.

The state has lost the dispute so far -- the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the government last fall. The state has appealed the decision to the Supreme Court.

No specifics are yet available about the settlement, but other tribes elsewhere in the country and in Connecticut have come to agreements on land-into-trust issues. The Mohegan Tribe and a neighboring town have an agreement and New Mexico's 19 Pueblos are considering one with the city of Albuquerque. Both involve requiring the land be subject to local land use regulations.

In the case of the Pequot case, the towns indicate they want monetary payments from the tribe.

Get the 2nd Circuit Ruling:
Connecticut v. Babbitt (Second Circuit Court of Appeals. No. 99-6042. September 2000)

Get the Story:
Residents quietly wait for proposal from tribe (The New London Day 4/9)
Land trust controversy began 8 years ago (The New London Day 4/7)

Only on Indianz.Com:
The Supreme Court and Indian Law: 2000-2001 (3/6)

Related Stories:
DOJ wants rejection of Pequot case (4/6)
State joins Pequot appeal (11/29)
Towns to appeal Pequot ruling (11/07)
Does a Pequot empire await? (9/27)
Court rules against anti-Pequot towns (9/26)