Eastern Pequot Tribal Nation
| Total population | |
|---|---|
|
(Enrolled members: 920 ) |
|
| Regions with significant populations | |
 United States Connecticut
|
|
| Languages | |
| English, formerly Pequot | |
| Religion | |
| Christianity | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Mashantucket Pequot |
(Enrolled members:
The Eastern Pequot Tribal Nation is a Native American group based in southeastern Connecticut, descended from the historic Pequot tribe who dominated southeastern New England. It is one of five tribes recognized by the state of Connecticut.
In 2002 the Secretary of the Interior granted recognition to the Eastern Pequot Tribal Nation (EPTN) after approving a union between the Eastern Pequot and Paucatuck Eastern Pequot, who had submitted separate petitions for recognition. It said their documentation showed through genealogy and history they had been one tribe, and only recently were divided over a dispute. The tribes agreed.
In 2005, after a civil suit and internal review, with a background of strong lobbying against federal recognition by the Connecticut state government, Congressional delegation, and certain anti-gaming interests, and a change in the presidential administration, the Bureau of Indian Affairs revoked the recognition. That year, it had earlier revoked recognition from the Schaghticoke Tribal Nation, which it had approved in 2004. These were the first times since the 1970s that the BIA had terminated recognition of any tribes. In 2012, the ETPN filed a federal lawsuit seeking to overturn BIA's revocation.
All Pequots are descended from the tribe that was the dominant power in southeastern New England in the 1600s. Following the Pequot War in 1637, in which hundreds were killed by the English and their Indian allies, many surviving Pequots were assigned to the supervision of tribes who had been English allies: the Mohegan in the west and Narragansett in the eastern part of the region. These tribes also spoke branches of the Algonquian languages.
As the Bureau of Indian Affairs said in 2002, "Those Pequots whom the colonial government removed from the supervision of the Eastern Niantic sachem Ninigret in 1654 were subsequently governed by two Indian rulers: Harmon Garrett and Momoho. The Colony of Connecticut purchased the Lantern Hill land for Momoho's Pequots in 1683. Since then there has been an unbroken history of state recognition and a reservation for this tribe."
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