The House Committee on Government Reform will hold a hearing May 5 on the federal recognition process.

Rep. Chris Shays (R-Conn.), vice-chairman of the committee, is a vocal critics of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. He says the agency has violated regulations by recognizing two tribes in Connecticut.

The committee previously held a hearing on the process. Members criticized former assistant secretary Neal McCaleb for not seeking more resources to handle recognition petitions.

Shays and other lawmakers Connecticut are pressuring Interior Secretary Gale Norton to rescind the recognition of the Schaghticoke Tribal Nation. They claim the BIA recognized the tribe despite gaps in the evidentiary record. Norton is asking her department's inspector general to speed up its review of the decision, The Kent Good Times Dispatch reported.

Get the Story:
Norton requests BIA review (The Kent Good Times Dispatch 4/9)
Federal Recognition Debate Rages On (The New London Day 4/10)
pwday

Relevant Links:
House Committee on Government Reform - http://reform.house.gov