Robert L. Bee, Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus of Anthropology, University of Connecticut
Dear Environment Committee Members:
I'm writing in support of
I am
Other testimony describes the history of years of negotiating efforts by the Schaghticokes, Mashantucket Pequot, Pawcatuck Eastern Pequot, Mohegan, and Golden Hill Paugussetts. They wished to collaborate with the state to help create an official state forum for discussing their issues and an effective means for addressing their needs. The results are the Connecticut Indian Affairs Council (CIAC) and services provided by the Department of Environmental Protection, respectively. But the CIAC has disappeared as an effective forum, leaving Native Americans in the state with no collective official means of interacting with state government or
Given the important role of Native cultures in
The reasons for the CIAC's demise include intra-tribal factionalism, individual tribes' single-minded preoccupation with obtaining federal recognition, and the fallout (positive and negative) of "casino politics" in state government. Another important reason is the small CIAC membership, which has guaranteed a series of debilitating CIAC quorum crises.
A new Native American affairs commission along the lines proposed in
But the existing language of
A planning group has been working for months on both the revised language and the liaison with the five recognized tribes. It has actively solicited input of non-recognized Native American groups. I urge the members of the Environment Committee to consider the proposed language changes when these are offered, and to be assured of the positions of all of the five
Thank you for your consideration, and again, my apologies for resorting to e-mail for my comments.