http://www.escribe.com/culture/native_news/m32687.html
Website Aims At Casinos Tribes See It As An Attempt To Fuel Bigotry, Harassment June 23, 2002 By RICK GREEN, Courant Staff Writer A secretive group's anti-casino website is drawing charges that it is fueling bigotry and targeting native tribes for harassment. The arrival of Tribalnation.com - which lists a New York City post office box for an address and takes aim at Connecticut's flourishing Indian-owned casinos - comes just as two North Stonington tribes are awaiting a decision on federal recognition. "The content of this site is filled with misinformation," said J. Cedric Woods, a spokesman for the Mashantucket Pequots, who own Foxwoods Resort Casino. "The purpose of this anonymous site is to fuel flames of bigotry, hatred and intolerance, and [it] seeks to make individual tribal members the target of harassment." In recent days, authors of the website, some of whom say they live in southeastern Connecticut, have posted what appears to be a membership list for the Mashantuckets, a group that has long guarded its privacy. The website promises it will soon add home addresses and telephone numbers to the posting. In recent weeks, it has also promised to release salaries and compensation for tribal members, raising questions about whether Tribalnation.com has access to the casino and tribal offices. Frequent casino critics, such as local municipal leaders and author and congressional candidate Jeff Benedict, said they have nothing to do with the website, although portions of their work are posted on it. Some said the website is just another indicator of the deteriorating relationship between the tribe and local municipalities. In recent years, relations between the Mashantuckets and Ledyard, North Stonington and Preston have slipped to the point where the two sides rarely talk. The towns are also fighting federal recognition of the Paucatuck Eastern Pequots and the Eastern Pequots. "Their sovereignty has placed the communities, the towns, and the individuals surrounding them into political, social and economic chaos," the website states. "These people cannot speak their native tongue, nor do they know the history of which they are so proud to be a part. Mention the word casino and all of a sudden they can trace their ancestors." The Mashantuckets were recognized by an act of Congress in 1983. The Mohegans won federal recognition in 1994, successfully demonstrating to the Bureau of Indian Affairs that they descend from a historic tribe. Both tribes operate museums. "We give little or no credence to the people who choose to use the Internet to spread half-truths and discontent," said Charles F. Bunnell, deputy chief of staff for the Mohegan Tribe, which owns the Mohegan Sun casino. In telephone interviews, authors of the website refused to identify themselves and said that they are not "anti-Indian." "We are not challenging the tribes themselves. We just want the public to know how they are interacting with the communities," said a man who responded to e-mails sent to the website. Marsha Stein, associate director of the Connecticut Regional Office, Anti-Defamation League, said the Tribalnation website "does not seem to be a hate site. It seems to be anti-gambling. ... This is public information and it is being collected and put on a site." The website pops up at a time of rising tensions between municipalities and Indian groups that have earned sovereign nation status under the much criticized federal recognition process. In January, the United South and Eastern Tribes, an organization of 24 tribes including the Mashantuckets and Mohegans, condemned the growth in anti-Indian groups. The National Congress of American Indians has passed a similar resolution. "There are people who don't like the idea of tribes regaining power," said Jim Adams, editor of Indian Country Today, a national Native American newspaper owned by the Oneida Tribe. "They deny they are operating from racism or bigotry." North Stonington First Selectman Nicholas Mullane said people in his town aren't anti-Indian, but are angry over the creation of two huge casinos and how that has changed things. "This is all about money and casinos and making a fast buck," Mullane said. Preston First Selectman Robert Congdon, who has sought to find some common ground with the Mashantuckets, said the website was attracting attention in his town. "I don't think it hurts as long as it is accurate," Congdon said. "The risk is that you get sites like this that aren't accurate." ***** Judge for yourself whether the faux site is fomenting hate against Indians and Indian sovereignty. From TribalNation.com's home page (all the ignorant spelling, capitalization, and punctuation is from the original): TRIBAL NATIONS: CASINOS, BIG BUSINESS AND POLITICS. It would appear that for the past hundred years or so, these indians / tribes did not feel the need to be federally recognized tribal nations nor does it appear they even considered themselves indians. Until recently, they did not reside on the reservation(s), there were no governing tribal bodies or laws. Hardly any of these people can trace their genealogy to a census role never mind their "tribal ancestors". For the most part these people cannot speak their native tongue, nor do they know the history of which they are so proud to be a part. Mention the word casino and all of a sudden they can trace their ancestors to 2 indian tribes. Not until a loophole in the law, which allowed federally recognized tribal nations to own and operate casino(s) on their reservations did these people decide to be indians, want to live on the reservations, and annex more land. Visit and show your support for the Grass Roots Oyate http://members.tripod.com/GrassRootsOyate Clemency for Leonard Peltier. Sign the Petition. http://petitiononline.com/Release/petition.html ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: [email protected] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?b1ddNB.b2HgmN Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
