Law | Trust

BIA approves land-into-trust application for Mohegan Tribe





The Bureau of Indian Affairs has approved a land-into-trust application for the Mohegan Tribe of Connecticut.

The application covers about 35 acres. That would bring the tribe's total trust land holdings to 350 acres.

The tribe gained federal recognition in 1994. Its land claim settlement act states that the federal government "shall" place up to 700 acres in trust for the tribe.

The law appears to override any concerns raised by the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Carcieri v. Salazar poses a problem. The ruling restricts the land-into-trust process to tribes that were "under federal jurisdiction" in 1934.

Get the Story:
Mohegan Tribe Takes 35 Acres into Trust (The Montville Patch 3/14)

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