Supreme Court to Schaghticoke Tribal Nation: No

KENT — The U.S. Supreme Court has chosen not to hear a petition from the Schaghticoke Tribal Nation asking the court to overturn the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs’ 2005 ruling, which said the nation does not merit official recognition as an Indian tribe.

On the opening day of its session on Oct. 4, the court discussed which cases it will hear. Hundreds of cases were turned down without comment; one of those cases was the Schaghticoke tribal recognition appeal.

Schaghticoke Tribal Nation Chief Richard Velky and attorney Richard Emanuel did not return calls for comment for this article.

In an interview in early July with The Lakeville Journal, Velky said he was not too optimistic about his chances of winning the case.

“I have been told that the Supreme Court only hears about 1 percent of cases that get submitted,� Velky said. “It is my understanding that when it comes to Native American issues they have not been too favorable toward us.�

At the Board of Selectmen’s regular meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 5, First Selectman Bruce Adams said he is very pleased with the court’s decision.

“It’s good news,�Adams said. “It truly is.�

“An act of Congress is the only way [the legal process] can get restarted,� Selectman Karren Garrity added.

The group first petitioned with the bureau back in 1981. In 2004, the bureau officially recognized the tribe.

However, after the decision was made, Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, then-Congresswoman Nancy Johnson, Sen. Joseph Lieberman, Congressman Christopher Shays and others denounced the decision.

In 2005, the recognition was overturned by the bureau. In September 2006, a federal court reaffirmed the decision of the bureau.

In 2009, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit  reaffirmed the 2005 decision.

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