Connecticut Attorney General's Office

Press Release

Attorney General Announces Latest Victory Upholding Denial Of Schaghticoke Appeal For Recognition

October 19, 2009

Attorney General Richard Blumenthal today announced that the Second Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously rejected an appeal by the Schaghticoke Tribal Nation (STN) to overturn the Bureau of Indian Affairs' (BIA) refusal to grant the group federal tribal recognition.

The STN appealed to the Second Circuit after the BIA denied the STN tribal recognition for failing to meet the federal criteria, and the U.S. District Court refused to overturn the BIA's denial.

Blumenthal argued and the BIA determined that the STN failed to satisfy the federal criteria for federal tribal recognition. The court upheld Blumenthal's longstanding arguments that the STN have not existed as a continuous tribal political and social entity and there was no undue political influence in the BIA's decision.

"This decision is the legal coup d' grace -- finally putting this meritless petition out of its misery," Blumenthal said. "The ruling only reaffirms reality -- that the Schaghticoke petition for recognition was unfounded in fact and law. Sovereign status must be granted only to groups that meet the explicit federal criteria, and the Schaghticoke have failed to meet those standards.

"In a case of Groundhog Day, the Schaghticoke's recognition claims have been rejected again. An appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court -- the only recourse left -- would be futile and foolish, and we will fight it vigorously."