Indian tribe plans development

By Rick Green
Courant Staff Writer

The Schaghticoke Indian Tribe said Tuesday it will soon begin excavation work at its historic reservation in Kent in preparation for home construction and other unspecified "economic development" - a move that could spark a clash with the state.

"We are going to start building a road up to the top of [Schaghticoke] Mountain," said William Buchanan, a consultant working with the tribe. "We are going to scratch the ground and see what the reaction is. But we are not about to go gangbusters. We are going to bring in anthropologists."

Tribal Vice Chairwoman Gail Harrison said the Schaghticokes want to revive a housing development plan from the 1980s, build a commercial trading post and start other activities the tribe will reveal in coming weeks.

"We've always gotten involved with everyone in town. They know we would never do anything detrimental," she said.

But Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said Harrison's group must seek state approvals before beginning any development on its Kent reservation.

"They are bound by state civil and criminal law. They are subject to all state environmental laws and regulations," Blumenthal said. "The land is held by the state in trust for the tribe."

A contingent from the Schaghticoke Indian Tribe moved onto the reservation on Friday, bringing in a trailer and taking over tribal offices in a picnic pavilion. Members of the rival Schaghticoke Tribal Nation moved out, filling pickup trucks with items.

State police officers went to the pavilion Friday and again Sunday when Schaghticoke Indian Tribe members said Schaghticoke Tribal Nation members were shooting guns in the nearby woods. No arrests have been made.

Schaghticoke Indian Tribe leaders say the reservation is open to all Schaghticokes, but that they are in charge of the 400-acre parcel, located between the Housatonic River and rocky hills that rise west of the town of Kent.

The state recognizes the Schaghticokes as an Indian tribe and both Schaghticoke groups say they represent the true historic natives who have lived in northwestern Connecticut since the 1700s. Although the Interior Department denied an application for federal recognition by the 250-member Schaghticoke Tribal Nation this past October, that group is expected to appeal the decision. The Schaghticoke Indian Tribe, a group of less than 100, has its own pending recognition application before the Interior Department.

Any development would have to be reviewed by various state agencies depending on what was proposed, Blumenthal said.

"If they were to establish a casino, no question there would be consequences," he said. "If they were to establish a housing development, they would be required to submit the same kind of applications regarding land use and wetlands as any other developer."

The state's Department of Environmental Protection, which has oversight of the state's five Indian reservations, is uncertain what the Schaghticokes are planning, said Matthew Fritz, chief of staff for Commissioner Gina McCarthy.

"A large-scale development would be something new for all of us," he said. "It's not clear as how we would weigh in."

Indian law scholar Nell Jessup Newton, dean of the University of Connecticut Law School, said any state-recognized tribe would likely be bound by state laws.

"A state-recognized tribe is not entitled to exceptions to state law," Newton said. "That is the reason you seek federal recognition. You are subject to ordinary state law. They very well could be subject to local zoning rules."