"Since receiving a preliminary determination for recognition by the Bureau of Indian Affairs over two years ago, the Eastern Pequot Indian group has been awaiting word from the Interior Board of Indian Appeals on whether it gets to keep the prize.

As decision day on the state's appeal process goes forward, the Eastern Pequots' leader, Marcia Flowers, is campaigning to convince the public and the media that acknowledgment is �inevitable.�

In all that spin there is little reality. For starters, if the Eastern Pequot groups' petitions were so strong, the BIA wouldn't have had to jury-rig them together to compensate for the inability of either one to hold up on its own. Nonetheless, it is understandable that Flowers and the Easterns, along with their wealthy financial backers, would view the outcome of their push for recognition and a casino as inevitable. After all, they are accustomed to dealing with the BIA, where rules and regulations governing acknowledgment are treated more like pesky detours en route to a pre-determined casino destination."

Get the Story:
The Politics Of Greed Drive BIA Process (The New London Day 12/5)
pwday

Relevant Links:
Jeff Benedict - http://www.jeffbenedict.com