A family that traces it ancestry to a famed Pequot leader held a protest on Thursday to call attention to their attempt to gain membership into the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation of Connecticut.

The Symonds say they are being wrongfully denied membership in the wealthy tribe. In the past, tribal officials have acknowledged the Symonds' Pequot heritage.

But since enrollment is limited to descendants of Pequots who were on a 1900 and 1910 U.S. Census, the Symonds aren't eligible. Family members say greed -- the tribe hands out per capita payments from the casino -- is behind their exclusion.

Get the Story:
Family Protests its Exclusion From Mashantucket Rolls (The New London Day 4/8)
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