A proposed rule change that could give the Eastern Pequot Tribe another crack at federal recognition has sparked some of the same opposition the tribe faced during its first brush with recognition in the early 2000s.

The very possibility the Easterns ― and two other state-recognized tribes, the Schaghticokes of Kent and the Golden Hill Paugussetts of Colchester and Trumbull ― could again pursue the status enjoyed by Connecticut’s two federally recognized tribes, the Mashantucket Pequots and the Mohegans, has put the Easterns on a collision course with the state, federal lawmakers and the towns of Ledyard, North Stonington and Preston.

They’ve been there before.

Back in 2002, when the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs issued “final determinations” recognizing two North Stonington groups, the Eastern Pequot Indians of Connecticut and the Paucatuck Eastern Pequot Indians of Connecticut, as a single entity, the Historical Eastern Pequot Tribe, opponents protested.

The state and the three neighboring towns as well as a group known as the Wiquapaug Eastern Pequot Tribe challenged the final determinations before the Interior Board of Indian Appeals. Richard Blumenthal, the U.S. senator who was then Connecticut’s attorney general, led the charge.

Three years later, the IBIA’s “reconsidered final determination” found the two tribal groups failed to meet two of seven requirements for recognition. The factions, which became distinct in the 1980s, were not the same community that existed before that time, and neither represented the entire tribe. The IBIA also found insufficient evidence of political authority or influence within the group from 1913 to 1973 and since the time when the two factions separated.

Recognition requires proof that a group has been continuously identified as a tribe since colonial times.

This past summer, the BIA announced it would consider giving “denied petitioners” ― tribes whose applications for recognition had been turned down ― another chance to gain the status that would afford them access to federal grants and services available only to recognized tribes. Such “re-petitioning,” prohibited since 1994, is now being revisited due to court decisions that found the ban violated federal regulations.

The BIA received hundreds of responses to its request for input on the proposed rule change, and plans to send a final draft to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs by Nov. 15. The office is the U.S. government’s central authority for the review of executive branch regulations.

Proposal ‘profoundly misguided’

In their response, the Easterns asked that the BIA restore the two previous “positive findings” of its petitions for recognition.

“While its voice has been strong regarding its federally recognized tribes, CT’s support is diminished among the state’s non-recognized tribes,” Lawrence E. Wilson III, the Easterns’ chairman, wrote to the Interior’s assistant secretary of Indian Affairs. “Rather, external parties within the State system and its towns have had an undeserved and improper voice in the destiny of the Indians. That said, Indians are the only ethnic group in America that is required to meet a set of criteria to legitimize ourselves.”

In the tribe’s view, Wilson wrote, “the BIA has been weaponized for political, economic and, yes, discriminatory reasons.”

Wilson declined to discuss the letter.

Connecticut’s attorney general, William Tong, responded to the BIA re-petitioning proposal on behalf of the state, calling the proposed rule “profoundly misguided.” He wrote that the BIA is legally required to maintain the ban on re-petitioning and that doing so “is the equitable approach.”

Tong noted the state devoted considerable resources to responding to previous petitions filed by the Schaghticokes, the Eastern Pequot groups and the Golden Hill Paugussetts, and would face “renewed threats” if additional recognized tribes pursued extensive land claims.

The U.S. government can take land into trust for recognized tribes, removing the land from tax rolls and state and local jurisdiction. Recognized tribes can also pursue casino development, as did the Mashantuckets and the Mohegans, owners, respectively, of Foxwoods Resort Casino and Mohegan Sun.

In a separate letter, Gov. Ned Lamont endorsed Tong’s comments and urged the Interior Department to refrain from moving forward with its proposed rule change.

Six of the seven members of Connecticut’s congressional delegation also filed a letter urging the BIA to keep the re-petitioning ban in place, citing the impact of the process on the state and local communities.

“When one petitioning Tribe filed a petition ..., they placed lis pendens on the land records of hundreds of properties in an area they sought to claim as reservation land,” they wrote. “These lis pendens made it difficult for affected homeowners to sell their property or even obtain a mortgage.” A lis pendens is a written notice that a lawsuit concerning a property has been filed.

In an apparent reference to the Easterns, the delegation wrote that another tribal petitioner “stated that, with recognition, they would build a casino in a rural section of Connecticut where significant land has been preserved as open space ...”

The delegation’s letter was signed by Blumenthal and Sen. Chris Murphy and Reps. John Larson, Joe Courtney, Rosa DeLauro and Jim Himes, all Democrats. Rep. Jahana Hayes, also a Democrat, did not sign the letter.

Fred Allyn III, Ledyard’s mayor; Robert Carlson, North Stonington’s first selectman; and Sandra Allyn-Gauthier, Preston’s first selectwoman, also urged the Interior Department to maintain the ban on re-petitioning. They wrote that the towns invested hundreds of thousands of dollars from 1998 to 2005 in opposing the Easterns’ recognition bid, and invested more thereafter amid appeals and changes in the recognition process.

“DOI’s proposed rule is profoundly misguided and will lead to further litigation,” the town officials wrote.

Four southeastern Connecticut lawmakers expressed support for the state-recognized tribes’ interest in reapplying for the recognition they’ve been denied.

“We firmly believe that if federal recognition were granted or reinstated, these tribes will become even greater productive and valued citizens of Connecticut, and their tribal members will receive the justice they deserve,” the lawmakers wrote.

The letter was signed by state Sen. Cathy Osten, D-Sprague, and state Reps. Christine Conley, D-Groton; Derell Wilson, D-Norwich; and Anthony Nolan, D-New London.

Rodney Butler, the Mashantucket chairman, and James Gessner Jr., the Mohegan chairman, have expressed support for other Connecticut tribes’ recognition efforts.

b.hallenbeck@theday.com