|
Shays Testifies Before
Senate Indian Affairs Committee
Washington, D.C. - Congressman Christopher Shays
(R-CT) testified today before the Senate Indian Affairs Committee
along with the Governor, Senators and other members of the
congressional delegation. The hearing, chaired by Senator
John McCain, examined the federal recognition process for
Indian tribes. The following is Shays’ testimony:
“Mr. Chairman and members of the Committee, thank you
for allowing me to come before you and testify on the Bureau
of Indian Affairs recognition process. The subject is of great
importance to the Fourth District and our state because several
tribes in Connecticut are seeking to open Class III gaming
facilities on off-reservation lands.
“The Schaghticoke Tribal Nation of Kent is seeking
to build a casino in Danbury, Waterbury or Bridgeport. The
Golden Hill Paugussett tribe of Colchester, although ultimately
rejected by the BIA, has been seeking to build a casino in
Bridgeport and is still pressing land claims. Both the Historic
Eastern Pequot tribe of North Stonington and the two Nipmuc
groups in Massachusetts are seeking to build casinos in Eastern
Connecticut.
“Given the extraordinary consequences of Federal recognition
in the era of Indian gaming, it is particularly important
for the process to be fair, objective and transparent. The
granting of federal recognition to state tribes is analogous
to giving them a license to print money.
“I believe we need full and accurate knowledge of the
extent to which financial interests influence the federal
recognition process. Recent hearings of the House Government
Reform Committee, of which I am the Vice-Chairman, have revealed
the substantial casino interests financing acknowledgment
petitions in Connecticut. I believe big money gaming interests
have corrupted the federal recognition process. The case of
the Schaghticoke Tribal Nation is a case in point.
“On January 29, 2004, the Bureau of Indian Affairs
announced its decision to recognize the Schaghticokes as a
federal tribe, even though it seemed clear they did not meet
the Bureau’s seven criteria for proving continuity from
pre-colonial times.
“On March 12, 2004, the Hartford Courant made
public a memo circulated within the Department of Interior
that indicated that the Schaghticokes were granted recognition
without having met the criteria the BIA has established to
evaluate petitions for tribal recognition. The memo demonstrated
the agency knew the tribe lacked political continuity, one
of the seven criteria that must be met to gain recognition,
for a period of 64 years in the 19th and 20th centuries. The
memo also brought into question several people whose names
were on the petition, but who were never members of the tribe.
Even more disturbing, the memo provided directions for recognizing
the tribe in spite of the fact that it did not meet some of
the established criteria.
“The private investors who stand to make an absolute
fortune from recognition decisions, and the casino developers,
who encourage groups to seek recognition, even when those
groups might not have united to do so because they do not
meet the recognition criteria, need to be rooted out from
the recognition process. The influence exerted by the huge,
undisclosed sums being poured into the process has distorted
the tribal recognition process to the point where it bears
no resemblance to its governing statues and regulations.
“It seems to me wealthy investors should not be able
to manipulate the federal recognition process by investing
huge sums of undisclosed money in order to bolster petitioners’
claims. Furthermore, legitimate tribal interests are finding
themselves in a process where they cannot hope to gain recognition
without being able to spend lavish sums of money on lobbying
-- making a mockery of the original intent of the federal
recognition process. Simultaneously, a shadow has unfairly
been cast over all of the tribes that have met the criteria
and achieved due recognition.
“Our nation has a responsibility to uphold certain
unbreakable obligations to the continent's native peoples,
but I believe big money gaming interests, which have literally
started assembling tribes with the hopes that they can eventually
reap huge profits from Indian casinos, have corrupted the
process.
“The bottom line is, until the special interests of
wealthy casino developers and investors are held accountable,
tribes such as the Schaghticokes will continue to get federal
recognition when it’s clear they do not meet the criteria.
“We need legislation like Congressman Simmons’
bill, H.R. 1354, of which I am a cosponsor. His bill would
codify the seven criteria used by the BIA to evaluate petitions
for federal recognition and close the revolving door at the
BIA to prevent those who have advocated on behalf of tribal
petitioners from taking positions at the BIA that determine
the validity of those petitions.
“Indian gaming is a $23 billion industry and its expansion
hinges upon the federal recognition process. It is absolutely
essential this process is conducted in a fair, objective and
transparent manner.”
Contact: Sarah Moore,
202/225-5541
-30-
|
