On June 29th 2015, it was reported that a new rule by the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs would kill the chance of another casino in Connecticut being built by an Indian tribe that has been federally recognized.
The new rules on Monday say that any tribes that have been denied recognition before will not be able to reapply and will also not be able to use century old state recognition in order to get federal recognition. This recognition allows the ability of operating casinos on tribal land.
The condition though, seems to rule out the new applications that have been made by the Schaghticoke Indians that have a reservation in Kent, The Golden Hill Paugussetts Indians that have a reservation in Trumbell and the Eastern Pequots. These three tribes have all been recognized by the state.
These tribes had been denied for federal recognition before and also took their cases to federal courts where they were unsuccessful. The Schaghticoke Indians were considering a casino in Bridgeport and in the Danbury area and the Paugussetts proposed a casino plan in Bridgeport. The Golden Hill Tribe of the Paugussett Indians Chief, Quiet Hawk, said that the new rule was unfair.
Michael McLachlan, State Senator said that the rules now get rid of the fear that was held in regards to casinos in the Danbury area. The new rule also changes a proposal that was to force tribes in proving their ancestry back to 1934, but now tribes will need to go back as far as 1900.
The changes that have been made ensure that tribes in Connecticut that have been denied will not get another chance and that future petitioners will not have an advantage because of the base criteria the federal government has used that will recognize a tribe has not changed according to Governor Dannel P. Malloy.