[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 18]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 24999]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            TRIBUTE TO THE MASHANTUCKET PEQUOT TRIBAL NATION

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. DALE E. KILDEE

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 16, 2003

  Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, as cochairmen of the Congressional Native 
American Caucus, my colleague Congressman J.D. Hayworth and I would 
like to ask our colleagues to join us in paying tribute to the 
Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation on the 20th anniversary of the 
passage of the Mashantucket Pequot Indian Land Claims Settlement Act. 
This landmark legislation settled the Tribes' land claim and granted 
federal recognition to the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation.
  Mr. Speaker, for thousands of years, this land has been home to the 
Mashantucket Pequots and their ancestors. Centuries before the arrival 
of Columbus, the Pequots had a sophisticated understanding of their 
land, which stretched across present-day Southeastern Connecticut.
  Like other northeastern Tribes, the Pequots had developed a rich and 
complex culture. Their language, medicine, rituals, horticulture, 
trade, government, and social organization defined what it meant to be 
a Pequot. Within two decades of contact with the white settlers, 
smallpox and other diseases killed more than half of the Pequots and 
devastated the social structure of those who survived. Then, in 1637, 
the settlers in colonial Massachusetts and Connecticut waged war on the 
Tribe. In a little more than an hour, hundreds of Pequot men, women and 
children died. The survivors were dispersed, and the settlers took 
their land.
  As a testament to the bravery and resiliency of the Pequot people, 
these tragic events did not bring about the end of the Pequot Tribe. 
Rather, the past three centuries has marked a period of strife, 
conflict, and a determination to regain its land and bring its people 
home.
  Mr. Speaker, two important themes run through the Pequot history: a 
persistence to maintain a tribal identity and a struggle to hold onto 
tribal land. By the mid-17th century, the Mashantucket Pequots had 
already returned to the land from which they had been banished. In the 
decades that followed, they were relocated to an area within their 
historic territory, but then were slowly and wrongfully deprived of 
most of that land as well. Throughout the centuries, the reservation's 
population dwindled as Tribal members were forced to seek jobs and 
housing elsewhere. For many years, the State of Connecticut blocked the 
return of Tribal members to their land. Still, the Tribe endured.
  Finally, in 1983, after years and years of struggle, the Congress 
enacted the legislation that settled the Tribes' land claim and 
provided federal recognition to the Tribe. The legislation transformed 
all aspects of the Tribe's existence and was critical in the Tribe's 
dramatic economic resurgence. Through the years, Tribal members have 
worked to re-establish a community and are achieving self-sufficiency 
by providing employment, health care, social services, education and 
infrastructure to their people.
  A primary concern of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation continues 
to be the preservation of Pequot history and culture. To accomplish 
this, the Nation maintains a Cultural Resources Department and a 
Historical and Preservation Committee made up of Tribal members. The 
Tribe has also worked to protect important archaeological sites within 
its territory.
  Mr. Speaker, in a short twenty years, the Mashantucket Tribal Nation, 
led by their elected leaders, have done so much to protect and enhance 
the tribal sovereignty of their people. They have persevered as a Tribe 
for centuries under the harshest of conditions and their status as a 
federally recognized Tribe has been long overdue. Today, the Tribe is 
an economic catalyst in their community and they employ over 13,000 
people, mainly non-Indians needing jobs and opportunity.
  The Mashantucket Pequots are also responsible neighbors. Over the 
last 20 years, the Tribe has generously donated to the Connecticut 
Special Olympics, the Smithsonian National Museum of the American 
Indian, the Mystic. Marine Life Aquarium, the United Way and many other 
organizations. Additionally, their revenue sharing agreement with the 
State of Connecticut has provided State coffers over $1.5 billion in 
additional revenue.
  We ask our colleagues in the United States House of Representatives 
to join us in congratulating the Mashantucket Pequots on the 20th 
anniversary of the passage of this legislation and wish them continued 
success in the future.

                          ____________________