As a tribal leader and a person of color, I have been disheartened to hear comments in recent months regarding our tribes ‘alleged’ motivations for not granting membership to a group that claims to be Eastern Pequot. These persons say we have denied them membership because of their partial African heritage; nothing could be farther from the truth.
The Paucatuck Eastern Pequots, like other Native Americans, have been the victims of prejudice and intolerance for hundreds of years, and therefore have zero tolerance for racist attitudes and behavior. Any suggestion that the Paucatucks do not accept the self-proclaimed Eastern Pequots (the Sebastian family) because they look black’ is patently false and personally offensive. The fact is, many of us in the Paucatuck Tribe, including myself, also have African ancestry and we embrace this along with the rest of our genealogy. I am proud of all my ancestors, American Indian and Black, and anyone who has taken the time to meet me knows it to be so.
The Sebastians have found it advantageous to try to appropriate our history and to accuse us of racism. In doing so, they are relying on the general public’s misunderstanding of our tribe, its history and the history of tribes in New England. But the issue of racism here is out of place. This is an issue of tribes maintaining their right to be self-governing, including the inherent right to determine their own membership. Federal and state laws recognize the right of tribes to follow their own rules and regulations about who they consider to be a member. The Paucatuck Tribe has always applied very strict standards for tribal membership and will continue to do so in the future.
The federal government’s regulations require petitioners for federal recognition to provide evidence of longstanding tribal community relations and tribal political autonomy. The evidence in this case is irrefutable ? for anyone who has taken the time to read the regulations and our documentation ? there has never been any community or political interaction between the Paucatuck Pequots and the Sebastian group. The issue here is not partial African heritage, but whether the Paucatuck Tribe and the Sebastian family ever acted together as a distinct tribal community under the same political authority throughout history. The answer is no.
A review of the record also shows that our refusal to acknowledge the Sebastians as members of our tribe is not based on their partial African ancestry, but on their not having Pequot Indian ancestry. Since at least the late 1800s, nearly all of the leaders and members of the Paucatuck Eastern Pequot Tribe have consistently objected to the presence on our reservation of Sebastians, and many others not associated with the Sebastians who also were either non-Indian or not members of our tribe.
The key to understanding this situation is not in racist attitudes, but in the Sebastians’ lack of Pequot ancestry, their non-existent tribal relations with the Paucatuck Tribe and our tribe’s right to be self-governing.
My great-grandfather, Grand Chief Sachem Silver Star, leader of the Paucatuck Eastern Pequot Tribe from 1928 until his death in 1955, started the American Indian Federation as an inter-tribal organization specifically for ‘Black Indians’ like himself. He participated in tribal pow wows around New England and used his other public performances to combat racism against ‘Black Indians’ and to help gain broader acceptance from the area’s non-Indian community for ‘Black Indians.’ Here again, it is noteworthy that no one from the Sebastian family sought membership in the federation.
Silver Star’s main leadership role in our tribe was protecting our right to determine our membership and our reservation from sale and from encroachment by non-tribal members, such as the Sebastians and other non-Paucatuck Pequots. This issue was a serious concern throughout his life.
Anyone familiar with the federal recognition regulations must conclude that the Sebastians have played the race card to confuse the real issue ? they do not meet the criteria for membership in our tribe. If the BIA determines that they meet the federal criteria as a separate tribe, so be it. We are simply opposed to any attempts to interfere with our authority to determine our membership ? by any means ? including what would be an illegal merger of the Paucatuck Tribe and the Sebastians by the federal government.
We also believe some observers have erred in buying into the Sebastians’ false claims, because of the injustices committed against people of African heritage in America. The Congress and the federal courts have taken different actions to address the injustices perpetrated upon African-American citizens. The difference arises because, in the case of American Indian tribes, the federal government is dealing with sovereigns in the context of the U.S. Constitution, while in the case of African-Americans, it is dealing with the constitutional rights of individual citizens.
Once again, it is important that people invest time to learn the facts, look beneath the surface of the rhetoric, and consider the evidence. The Paucatucks are not racists. We are merely a tribe in search of an objective accounting of our history, as well as the rights we deserve under the laws of the United States and the state of Connecticut. If anyone interested in these issues were to meet with me and visit our Hall of Ancestors they would see our history and sincerity firsthand.
