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Website Targets Connecticut Casinos

"The arrival of Tribalnation.com - which lists a New York City post office box for an address and takes aim at Connecticut's flourishing Indian-owned casinos - comes just as two North Stonington tribes are awaiting a decision on federal recognition.

"`The content of this site is filled with misinformation,' said J. Cedric Woods, a spokesman for the Mashantucket Pequots, who own Foxwoods Resort Casino. `The purpose of this anonymous site is to fuel flames of bigotry, hatred and intolerance, and [it] seeks to make individual tribal members the target of harassment.'

"In recent days, authors of the website, some of whom say they live in southeastern Connecticut, have posted what appears to be a membership list for the Mashantuckets, a group that has long guarded its privacy. The website promises it will soon add home addresses and telephone numbers to the posting. In recent weeks, it has also promised to release salaries and compensation for tribal members, raising questions about whether Tribalnation.com has access to the casino and tribal offices.

"…Some said the website is just another indicator of the deteriorating relationship between the tribe and local municipalities.

"…`Their sovereignty has placed the communities, the towns, and the individuals surrounding them into political, social and economic chaos,' the website states. `These people cannot speak their native tongue, nor do they know the history of which they are so proud to be a part. Mention the word casino and all of a sudden they can trace their ancestors.'

"…`We are not challenging the tribes themselves. We just want the public to know how they are interacting with the communities,' said a man who responded to e-mails sent to the website.

"…`There are people who don't like the idea of tribes regaining power,' said Jim Adams, editor of Indian Country Today, a national Native American newspaper owned by the Oneida Tribe. `They deny they are operating from racism or bigotry.'…"

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