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FRIDAY, JULY 18, 2003

"In many ways the federally recognized Connecticut tribes, particularly the Mashantuckets and Eastern Pequots, owe a large debt to the Narragansetts.

For starters, some tribal members, including Mashantucket vice-chairman Kenny Reels, used to be Narragansett, and many more have Narragansett ancestry or relatives. The Pequot line being at best pretty thin, you could almost say the Narragansetts preserved the Pequots for future generations.

I recall interviewing a Mashantucket cultural officer back in the 1980s about his Indian heritage. All he could talk about were the Narragansett powwows he attended as a boy with his father.

I've heard similar reminiscences from Eastern Pequots. The Narragansetts, it seems, despite their legendary infighting and disorganization, were the glue that held it all together."

Get the Story:
Bethe Dufresne: State Tribes Owe Debt To Narragansetts (The New London Day 7/18)