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SEPTEMBER 18, 2000

Tom Tureen, the Native American Rights Fund (NARF) lawyer who helped several Eastern tribes in their land claims battles in the 1970s, says allegations made by author Jeff Benedict in Without Reservation are false.

Tureen has been recently rehired by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation. He represented them from 1973 till 1983, helping them file their land claims suit, which was eventually settled by Congress with the passage of the Mashantucket Pequot Settlement Act.

The Act federally recognized the Pequot tribe. It also defined the new borders of the tribe's reservation in southeastern Connecticut.

On both these issues, Tureen says Benedict's allegations are false and unproven. He says documents show the current tribe's membership proves they are descended from the historic Pequot tribe, but Benedict says their genealogy can't be proven.

Additionally, he says the land the tribe was granted was fully discussed and understood by all parties. Benedict says it was slipped in to the law, unbeknownst to Congress.

Tureen has been invited by Benedict to attend to a forum discussing the book. It is not known whether or not he will attend the forum, which will be held tomorrow.

Get the Story:
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