Mashantucket Pequot Tribe of Connecticut

The Mashantucket (western) Pequot Tribal Nation, is a Native American nation in Ledyard, Connecticut. Historically the Pequots lived in what is now the Thames River basin, and spoke an Eastern Algonquian dialect. There are two separate Pequot groups in Connecticut, the federally recognized Mashantucket (Mushantuxet), and the unrecognized Paucatuck Eastern Pequots in North Stonington, Connecticut. The two groups had similar histories of dispossession and warfare with European settlers, but were split on two geographically separate land bases. In 1976 the Mashantucket Pequot created political pressure on the federal government to recognize their rights to land and self-governance. Through a lawsuit involving individual landholders, the Mashantucket Pequot proved the illegal sales of their lands in 1856, which reduced their reservation from 989 to 213 acres. The Mashantucket Pequot Indian Lands Claims Settlement Act, signed in 1983, granted the Mashantucket Pequot federal recognition, and placed re-acquired lands into trust. Currently, the Mashantucket Pequot own 1,250 acres of land, and have a tribally enrolled population of 785 members. The Mashantucket Pequot own and operate a number of economic enterprises including the Foxwoods Resort Casino, Lake of Isles golf course, Great Cedar Hotel, and many other tourist facilities.

“Foxwoods Resort Casino | Resort Casino in CT.” Accessed August 15, 2016. https://www.foxwoods.com/default.aspx.

“The Mashantucket (Western) Pequot Tribal Nation.” Accessed August 15, 2016. https://www.mptn-nsn.gov/enterprises.aspx.