Update: The Nipmuc Nation was denied federal recognition. Chief Walter Vickers said: "This is just wrong. We have fought for decades through every imaginable obstacle for this long-withheld recognition, despite our people tracing back thousands of years and recognition by the Commonwealth for more than 300 years." The tribe said it is reviewing its options.

"Nearly 25 years have passed since our tribe, the Nipmuc Nation, began the arduous process of gaining federal recognition by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Back then I worked at Bay State Abrasives, my family was much younger, and our tribe's bid for federal recognition seemed inevitable, if not imminent.

Now I am retired, and much of my time is spent on my duties as chief of the Nipmuc Nation. My daughters are married, and my wife and I have nine grandchildren and a great-grandchild. Yet there still is no decision from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and a dozen deadlines have come and gone with a decision finally expected today."

Get the Story:
Walter Vickers: Tribal status is not just about casinos (The Boston Globe 6/18)

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