CRITERIA FOR FEDERAL RECOGNITION
Federal acknowledgment is based on seven requirements
set out in 25 C.F.R. Part 83.7.
A petitioner must have been identified by reliable external sources on a substantially continuous basis as an Indian entity since 1900.
The Schaghticoke Tribal Nation has been recognized by the Colony and State of Connecticut from Colonial times and throughout the 20th century. Anthropologists, historians, the press, and other Indian organizations and tribes also have identified it as a tribe during this time.
A petitioner must have maintained a continuous community from historical times to the present day.
Since historical times, the Schaghticoke Tribal Nation has worked as a unit, conducting tribal meetings, powwows; rattlesnake hunts, naming ceremonies, and other community activities. Interaction is significant between sub-communities and kin groups both at these events and at funerals, weddings, and other social activities.
The group must show it has maintained political authority or influence on a substantially continuous basis from historical times to the present day.
There have been acknowledged or elected leaders of the Schaghticoke Tribal Nation from Gideon Mauwee to Richard L. Velky since historical times. In addition, the Nation has had such informal leaders as Frank Cogswell, who served as a steward of the Reservation, and cultural leaders such as tribal elders Eunice and Rachel Mauwee and Trudie Lamb-Richmond.
The group must submit a copy of its governing document or, if it does not have a governing document, a statement describing its membership criteria and how they are applied.
The Nation's Constitution, revised in 1997, sets forth its membership criteria.
Current members of the group, as a whole, must descend from a historic tribe or a tribe, which amalgamated.
The current membership of the Nation is based on three unbroken lineages descending from the historical tribe.
Membership must not primarily include those enrolled in any federally recognized tribe.
No Schaghticoke members are enrolled in other tribes
The group must not have been terminated by legislation.
The Schaghticoke Tribal Nation has never been the subject of legislation terminating or forbidding a federal relationship.