On July 13th we picked up our lunch boxes and then departed by coach to Ledyard to visit the Mashantucket Pequot Museum and reservation, Connecticut. We arrived at the Museum and assembled in the 'Gathering Space'. We then went to the lecture theatre and concert hall. After a brief introduction, our speaker Patrice H. Kunesh, the Mashantucket tribal lawyer, gave a presentation entitled: Native Americans: Legal Status and Legal System.

Patrice gave us a fascinating insight into the history and culture of the original Native American tribes. The meaning of Mashantucket is "great wooded area". On the tribal logo there is the signature of the Mashantucket Chief - Foxtreewood. The hill is Lantern Hill and the ledge is rocky to symbolise the landscape of the area. The tree in the logo is a Cedar tree and the fox represents the Fox People

The first reservation was over 2000 acres. Gradually this land was encroached on by the American settlers. There were only 800 acres left in the 1900's and this dwindled to a mere 70 acres by the 1970's with the remainder of the people struggling to keep their lands. At this time Federal Law applied to tribal people. However a number of legislative changes began to take place to enable repatriation of the Native Americans to their lands. In 1983 Congress passed the "Tribe Settlement Act". A Tribal Council was formally established who had paramount authority on the reservation. The Government provided a housing/urban development fund and this provided housing for tribal people including a Tribal Elders house.

Gradually, tribal people started to trickle back to reclaim their sovereign rights and Mashantucket now has over 600 Pequots living and working in the reservation. All the legislative, judicial and executive powers reside with the Tribal Council. In addition, a Tribal Court was established to enable a separation of powers and this is now very independent of the Tribal Council. There is criminal jurisdiction on the reservation Mashantucket has its own Tribal Police Force, Prosecutor and Gaol. It has a Committee system dealing in the area of education etc., and a Council of Elders. Some Federal law has been adopted but the Tribe has the right to enact and adopt its own laws. Most State laws do not apply to the Tribes.

Many child welfare issues had to be addressed. Children had been removed for no justifiable reason and put up for adoption. A Child Protection and Preservation Act enabled these children to be repatriated with their own people. The laws were a set of resolutions that were then codified and indexed by the Tribal Court. A Tribal lawyer was appointed and all Judges appointed by the Tribal Court are practising lawyers. The reservation now has its own Tribal Constitution, school, museum and research library. It is a nation within a nation.

So how was all this funded? It started with a Bingo Parlour back in 1986. The parlour proved very popular. Objections were made from the surrounding States about the evils of gambling but in 1988 the Supreme Court ruled that Tribes could have games on their own land. In 1992 a casino was opened. It was a major development. The gaming revenue provided the funding and the means for the Tribe to develop its own cohesive legal system.

We visited the Mashantucket Research Library and the exhibition. This has a Pequot village set in the 16th century. It depicts the life of the Natives and is incredibly realistic with life-size models in different native settings. We were then transported to Foxwoods Casino. I was staggered by the size of it. It was enormous and it was an uncomfortable experience for me. I have seen a European Casino with all the emphasis on glamorising what is essentially an addiction, but I have never seen anything on the scale of Foxwoods. The noise from the slot machines was resounding. There were rows upon rows of these machines. The most disconcerting things for me personally was the presence of young children and families and the sight of credit cards in permanent residence in the slot machines. It was quite scary I must admit! It was certainly an unforgettable experience. I must admit I was delighted and relieved to get back to our hotel from the Casino. The insight into the way of life of the Pequots was very worthwhile and I would certainly recommend a visit for any of our members who get such an opportunity.