Last of the Mohegans?

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Posted by Christina on October 01, 2001 at 16:14:05:

Just came over the AP wire. A very interesting feature. Thought it might be of interest..
NEW YORK QUESTIONS LEGITIMACY OF 'LAST OF MOHEGANS'}<
{(For use by New York Times News Service clients.)}<
{By JAMES M. ODATO}=
{c.2001 Albany Times Union}=
WAWARSING, N.Y. _ A group led by a charismatic, self-proclaimed ``last of the Mohegans'' chief has established what it claims to be New York's newest reservation.<
But the move by the Western Mohegan Tribe & Nation, which some officials view as a prelude to organized gambling just 90 miles southwest of Albany, has renewed questions about the tribe's legitimacy.<
At the center of the effort is Ronald A. Roberts, who used to sell slate in Granville and who now calls himself Chief Golden Eagle.<
But the state and federal governments do not recognize the Western Mohegans as a tribe. The tribal council of the Stockbridge Munsee Band of Mohicans, a recognized gaming tribe in Wisconsin, wants nothing to do with Roberts.<
Yet Roberts has suddenly raised at least $1.9 million to purchase the deteriorated, bankrupt Tamarack Hotel, paying half the sum to a bankruptcy court. He bought the resort _ which includes 250 acres, a main lodge and numerous other buildings _ from Ulster County, which got it through a tax foreclosure.<
In July, Ulster County legislators went along with Roberts' wishes to identify the purchasers as a tribe and a sovereign nation with which the county was settling any potential litigation involving ancestral homelands. The land is being held in trust by Union National Bank as ``Indian Country'' for perpetuity.<
In an interview at the site, Roberts said the land someday will be home to hundreds of Indian families, and that he has plans for hydroponic farming and a cultural center.<
Area officials and some people who have discussed it with Roberts believe the Tamarack project is all a prelude to building a gambling hall.<
Roberts declined to identify his supporters, although he mentioned that the Sioux are helping, and named Charles Colombe of the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota. Colombe, who often assists Native Americans in developing gaming, described Roberts as a friend. ``He has investors. I'm not in that group, but I have assisted him in other areas,'' he said.<
A lawyer who helped in the Tamarack Hotel deal said a group called BAG LLC is helping underwrite expenses. ``You really have to talk to the chief. He's the boss,'' said Bernard Wiczer, BAG's lawyer in Chicago, referring to Roberts.<
A few Native Americans, including a few Stockbridge Munsees, have joined Roberts in refurbishing the sprawling resort 25 miles from Monticello.<
Robert Parker, the former owner of The Concord Resort, is assisting. Parker said he has known Roberts for 30 years, since Roberts performed as a country singer at the Concord. About seven years ago he found out Roberts was an Indian, Parker said.<
Roberts claims he has DNA and genealogical evidence to prove his heritage. He said his tribe numbers more than 300 people, mostly from Washington County, and that they descended from Mohegans who roamed the land between Lake Champlain and Manhattan.<
A powerfully built man of 6 feet 3 with striking blue eyes and a broadcaster's voice, Roberts, 54, said his goals are altruistic. ``All we ever wanted to do is bring the nation back and share it with everyone,'' he said. ``As you get older, you want to correct some of the wrongs.''<
Roberts also has a litigious streak. He tried to set up a bingo hall in his hometown, but was thwarted by the state attorney general. He claimed ownership of Ellis Island, home of the Statue of Liberty. In a bankruptcy case two years ago, Roberts tried to take possession of The Concord, a Sullivan County landmark, saying it was in the tribe's homeland. Sullivan County Attorney Ira Cohen says Roberts and Parker talked about turning The Concord into a bingo parlor.<
And last year, Roberts filed notices of claim seeking tens of millions of dollars in ``rent'' from Hudson Valley municipalities, including the City of Albany and Albany County, for using his group's homeland for several centuries. In talks with Albany officials, the idea of creating a casino along the Hudson was raised.<
``I think they filed claims against everyone, hoping they could intimidate someone into giving them land for a casino,'' Cohen said.<
Roberts said he has no interest in gaming, and that his goal is to construct up to 50 greenhouses for year-round farming of tomatoes and other produce, build a comfortable community and an Indian cultural village for tourism. But he added he could be overruled by the group's ``elders.''<
Wawarsing Town Supervisor Richard Craft, who has been trying to get proof that the group is a tribe, said he sees more in Roberts' agenda.<
``They're intending to do bingo,'' he said. ``That's what I believe they're renovating the building for.''<
Town Building Inspector Jack Kissel said he has sought to inspect the renovations, but said Roberts insisted he has sovereign nation status.<
The town assessor wants to consider the property taxable, with a value of almost $1.2 million. Town leaders are upset at the agreement banged out by Ulster County calling for payments-in-lieu-of-taxes if the Western Mohegans prove they are tax-exempt. Payments would start at $25,000 and rise to $250,000, depending on proceeds from any businesses at the site.<
Cohen said those terms could be unenforceable if the tribe is indeed a sovereign nation.<
United States District Court Judge Lawrence Kahn doesn't seem to think it is. Kahn, who is based in Albany, is presiding over a case involving a claim by the Western Mohegans to Schodack Island. The claim has held up development of a park at the island, which is just south of Castleton-on-Hudson in Rensselaer County.<
In a recent ruling, Kahn cited correspondence between the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Western Mohegans in which the bureau indicates the group has fabricated its history.<
The BIA said the Western Mohegans' 600-page petition to be recognized as a tribe contained altered original documents, a questionable diary and some ``deliberate'' changes to records.<
``Even if you were able to establish Indian ancestry for your members or some of your members, you have not submitted any credible evidence to show that many claimed descendants have maintained their tribal connections,'' the bureau said.<
To be considered a tribe, Indian groups have to continue to exist as social and political entities, the BIA states.<
Roberts, however, says his group never formally applied for federal recognition and doesn't need to because it has always been recognized as a tribe since George Washington's Department of War formed companies of Mohegans, as historical records state.<
``We were never conquered,'' he said. Some Mohegans moved to Wisconsin and Connecticut, he said, but his tribe remained all these years in New York. For decades, he said, they were ``underground'' but maintained their culture. ``The last of the Mohegans is who we are,'' he said.<
After buying the Tamarack Hotel, the group raised a banner at the entrance to the main building: Western Mohegan Tribe & Nation Reservation.<
``It is a reservation,'' said a Connecticut-based lawyer for the group, Robert Hirtle, pointing to the language in the county's sale.<
Ulster County officials agreed to the language because it wanted the property returned to the tax rolls. ``They want to be called sovereign,'' said County Attorney Frank Murray. Just because the group wants to be called a sovereign nation doesn't mean they are, he added.<
Native Americans and some Indian law experts say BIA rejection doesn't necessarily mean a group isn't a tribe.<
``It's a Byzantine process,'' said Arlinda Locklear, a lawyer who has worked for several recognized tribes and has tried to gain recognition for the Lumbee in North Carolina. ``The BIA uses the old `shrinking pie argument' _ that there's a limit, the federal budget is the pie and the more slices they take out of it the less there is.''<
About 100 groups nationwide have failed to win U.S. recognition. Most have tried for decades, before the creation of Native American casinos was legal.<
``Are you an Indian because the BIA says you're an Indian? Or are you an Indian because you're born an Indian?'' Roberts asked.<

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