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NIPMUC NATION TRIBE FILES APPEAL OF JUNE DENIAL
WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
September 24, 2004
The Nipmuc Nation yesterday filed an appeal with the
U.S. Department of the Interior, Interior Board of
Indian Appeals (IBIA), of the Bureau of Indian Affairs’
June 18 Final Determination denying federal recognition
of the Massachusetts-recognized tribe.
In the 140-page submission, Chief Walter Vickers and
Tribal Council Chairwoman Frances Richardson Garnett
also provided the IBIA with 15 affidavits and 108 new
evidence documents, in support of their claim that the
Nipmucs have met the criteria for, and deserve, federal
tribal recognition. The Nipmuc Nation’s Request for
Reconsideration states: “the BIA, contrary to
established precedent, and in direct opposition to its
earlier decision, arbitrarily redefined the genealogical
guidelines of the tribe dividing the tribe into two
separate entities rather than recognizing the shared
history, ancestry and family lines of the members of the
Nipmuc Nation.”
Through extensive historical and genealogical research,
documentary evidence and affidavits, as well as
citations to both state and federal law, the Nipmuc
Nation provides a direct rebuttal of the BIA’s
contention regarding the heritage and continuing
involvement of its members; the sanctity of its
state-recognized reservation; numerous other areas where
the BIA either failed to review relevant evidence or
misrepresented evidence provided by the Nation.
The Nipmuc Nation leaders stated that: “We have again
proved in this document, as we did in our petition, that
we should have been recognized as a tribe by the Bureau
of Indian Affairs. In our earlier petition, as well as
in this appeal, we provided the BIA with the history and
documented ancestry of the Nipmuc from the early 1600’s
to the 21st Century. It is now time for the
Interior Board of Indian Appeals to do the right thing
and take action that will result in Nipmuc Nation
federal tribal recognition.”
The U.S. Department of the Interior, Interior Board of
Indian Appeals has 30 days to decide whether to accept
the Nipmuc’s Request for Recondsideration and seek
comment from other interested parties. If the request
is accepted by the IBIA, it is expected to review the
matter for several months and can then remand it for
reconsideration either back to the BIA or directly to
the Secretary of the Interior.
Federal Tribe Recognition qualifies the nation for a
host of federal programs and benefits designed to help
provide economic self-sufficiency and greatly increase
education opportunities, health care benefits and
private enterprise development opportunities for the
members of the Nipmuc Nation. |
