KENT, Conn.—The Schaghticoke Tribal Nation (STN), which was denied tribal recognition by Department of the Interior in 2005, has received a positive finding in Phase 1 of its request to re-petition for federal acknowledgement.
A comment period continues until April 28. The narrative portion of the re-petition request submitted by STN is available at the OFA website, www.bia.gov/as-ia/ofa.Comments and evidence may be submitted to the Department of the Interior, Office of the Assistant Secretary—Indian Affairs, Attention: Office of Federal Acknowledgment, Mail Stop 4071 MIB, 1849 C Street NW, Washington, DC 20240, or by email to Ofa_Info@bia.gov.
First Selectman Eric Epstein advised the Board of Finance in late January that additional funds will be needed to fund the town’s opposition to recognition. The community has joined with Kent School in challenging the STN’s renewed quest. A DOI hearing on the application is expected this spring.
The possibility of a new petition has loomed since 2023, when a U.S. District Court judge ordered the Department of the Interior to instigate rule changes to allow tribes previously denied federal acknowledgment to re-apply. Previously, a DOI denial prohibited tribes from re-petitioning.
The process of revamping the rules began in 2024 and in March 2025 the department revised the Federal acknowledgment regulations to establish a conditional and time-limited opportunity for re-petitions.
In September 2025, STN Chief Richard Velky wrote to the assistant secretary of Indian Affairs about the Schaghticoke Tribal Nation’s federal acknowledgment re-petition request, saying that the STN’s “decades-long recognition effort” was ended “under highly irregular circumstances” in 2005.
“Despite our concerted efforts to obtain federal recognition since this reversal, we have been unable to do so in large part due to a regulatory ban on re-petitioning …,” he wrote. “The newly revised regulations under Part 83 Subpart D now allow tribes to re-petition for federal acknowledgment. Accordingly, we submit this letter and supporting documentation to request authorization to re-petition … . We are grateful for this opportunity … .”
Federal recognition of tribal sovereignty carries with it significant benefits, including the legal authority for tribes to govern themselves, their lands and their citizens. It is recognized by the Constitution and establishes a government-to-government relationship with state and local authorities and allows tribes to enact laws, manage their police and courts and regulate their economies largely free of state interference. They remain subject to federal authority, however.
The Schaghticoke Tribal Nation’s quest for federal recognition began in the 1980s and continued into the 2000s. Its bid for sovereignty resulted in a bitter battle with the state, local government, Kent School, which stands upon contested tribal land, and other agencies.
Concurrent with the STN’s quest for federal recognition, the tribe sued to regain the land it previously lost. In a case that consolidated three land claim cases, the federal district court determined that the STN could not establish a case for land rights because it was not a federally recognized tribe. Its hopes for regaining ownership of some 2,000 acres of land rest on its success with the Department of the Interior.
Sovereignty would bring with it the right to build a casino on reservation lands, a possibility that horrified townspeople in the bucolic community. It was widely reported at the time that the tribe wanted to establish a third gambling casino in the state and intended to use its land claims in Kent to leverage a deal with the state to allow it to build a casino in a larger community.
A major backer of the STN’s bid for sovereignty was Fed DeLuca, co-founder of the Subway sandwich chain, who wanted to partner with the tribe to build a casino in Bridgeport. The STN is also said to have considered other sites for a casino, including in Danbury, Waterbury, New Haven and Stratford.
Compounding the issue, a much smaller group, the Schaghticoke Indian Tribe, whose members still live on the remaining 400 acres of tribal land in Kent, also sought sovereignty. Its petition has languished since 2015.
The STN petition was initially granted in 2004 but appeals from the state and other parties succeeded in overturning the decision. The Bureau of Indian Affairs, which is part of the Department of the Interior, concluded that the STN failed to meet two of the seven mandatory criteria for federal acknowledgement, specifically finding it had not maintained a cohesive and continuous “community” and had not maintained “continuous political influence” from 1920–1967 and 1997–present.
The tribe sued for relief in federal court, but the denial was upheld by a federal judge in August 2008 and affirmed by the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in 2009. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the case in October 2010.
Members of the Board of Finance noted that the re-petition will be based on the same evidence presented in 2005, but speculated that the changed political atmosphere in Washington, D.C., could lead to a different outcome. “With this bunch, where we have people [in government] in the gaming industry, we may end up with more activity,” cautioned member Jason Wright.
