The
Schaghticoke Tribal Nation is seeking clarification from a judge who dismissed a land theft case against the state of Connecticut.
The tribe initially claimed ownership of 2,000 acres of its reservation but was unable to provide a deed, Judge Thomas Moukawsher wrote in a
four-page decision on Wednesday. That led him to dismiss the land claim portion of the lawsuit
back in December 2017.
Moukawsher allowed the tribe to pursue a claim that it owned mortgages on the land.
But he said he had to dismiss that portion of the case as well.
"The trouble is that STN's claim to own the mortgages at issue suffers from the same flaw as its land claim: there is no express grant to the tribe of the ownership of the mortgages, and without one the tribe has no property right it can allege was wrongly taken from it," Moukawsher wrote on Wednesday.
In response to the ruling, Chief Richard Velky told The Associated Press that the tribe wants some answers before determining how to proceed. A
motion filed on Thursday states that four additional claims appear to be unresolved.
The tribe originally sought $610 million in damages for the land at issue in the case,
which is proceeding in state court. A prior land claim failed in federal court because the Schaghticokes failed to demonstrate their existence as Indian tribe for purposes of federal law.
The tribe at one point won federal recognition by going through the
Bureau of Indian Affairs. But the decision was reversed after the state of Connecticut filed an appeal.
The tribe is otherwise recognized under Connecticut law and resides on a state-recognized reservation. The reservation was originally set aside as 2,400 acres acres but is now down to
about 400 acres along the border with New York.
The case is
Schaghticoke Tribal Nation v. Connecticut, No. X07-HHD-CV16-6072009-S.
Read More on the Story
Judge dismisses Schaghticoke Tribal Nation's lawsuit in land seizure dispute
(The Associated Press May 23, 2019)
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