"The last of the land claims filed in western Connecticut by the Golden Hill Paugussetts have been dismissed by a federal judge.

That should end the tribe's effort to use the claims for leverage in building a casino -- and perhaps convince other tribes not to follow the Golden Hill tribe's path.

The tribe, based on a small reservation in Trumbull, filed land claims in 1993 against Southbury, Shelton, Seymour, Bridgeport, Westport and other communities, claiming the property was ancestral land.

The tribe's lawyers and nontribal investors made no effort to hide their motive for filing the land claims. They wanted to scare local residents so they would pressure state and federal officials to give the tribe whatever it wanted.

The tribe said it would drop the land claims in return for 300 acres of land in Bridgeport where it would build a casino. As part of the deal, the tribe wanted state officials to demand that the tribe be granted federal recognition, a status required to open a casino."

Get the Story:
Editorial: Disputes continue on tribal issues, as Golden Hill tribe loses in court (The Danbury News Times 12/15)

Relevant Links:
Golden Hill Paugussett Tribe - http://paugussett.itgo.com
Friends of the Golden Hill Paugussett Tribe - http://www.paugussetts.com

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