Aurene Martin, the former acting head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, is countering her former colleague Jim Cason on the reversal of recognition for a Connecticut tribe.

In a court declaration, Martin says the federal recognition petition submitted by the Schaghticoke Tribal Nation "was among the best and most thoroughly researched petitions ever reviewed by the BIA." "It was certainly the best among those that we reviewed during my tenure," she attested.

Martin's former boss, Neal McCaleb, rejected the tribe's petition in December 2002. Following the submission of new evidence, Martin concluded the tribe qualified for recognition in January 2004.

But an appeal by the state of Connecticut prompted the BIA to reconsider. Cason, a non-Indian who has been running the agency for more than a year, rejected the petition and sided with the state on some key issues that Martin now says should have gone in the tribe's favor.

Martin has previously defended her decision on the tribe. At an Indian law conference, she said the state's treatment of the tribe and its members as a separate entity was evidence of the tribe's political status.

Get the Story:
Former BIA head says Schaghticoke petition was the best (Indian Country Today 8/28)

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Federal Recognition Database V2.0 (May 2005)

Relevant Links:
Schaghticoke Tribal Nation - http://www.schaghticoke.com
Interior Board of Indian Appeals Decisions - http://www.ibiadecisions.com

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