The Schaghticoke Tribal Nation has been recognized by the Colony and then the State of Connecticut as a separate and distinct American Indian tribal entity continually from historic time through the 20th century. Today, the Tribe has approximately 300 members.

The historical and spiritual base of the Schaghticoke Tribal Nation is the Tribe's approximately 400-acre reservation in Kent, Connecticut. The reservation is mountainous and rocky, with a small strip of flatland located on a flood plain along the Housatonic River.

After decades of state policy to remove tribal members from the reservation, few currently live there. The vast majority of Tribal members reside in Fairfield, New Haven and Litchfield counties, along traditional Schaghticoke seasonal migratory routes along the Housatonic that were first documented in the 18th century.

From 1925 to 1972, Connecticut intensified a policy of detribalization and termination, making it extremely difficult for tribal members to live and gather on the Reservation. Tribal members were forced out, while those wanting to return home were refused permission. Except for farming, no business could be transacted and no buildings or improvements could be added without the written consent of the state. This anti-Indian policy is underscored by the fact that there were no public powwows on the Reservation between 1941 and 1972. All in all, tribal members recall, the Reservation was a "difficult place to live and survive" during this century.

Despite this hostile environment, Tribal members continued to meet on and off the Reservation. Newspaper articles, photos, and oral history interviews provide ample documentation of private powwows, weddings, baptisms and funerals. After 1973, when the Reservation was no longer under the jurisdiction of the State Welfare Department and the Tribe was incorporated, these and other formal gatherings were held more frequently. Ancient traditions, stories, and crafts are kept alive through the informal leadership of elders and formal leadership of the Tribal Council.

A tribal council consisting of a chief, vice chair, secretary, treasurer, and five other council members, governs the Tribe. The Tribe meets at least three times a year, and the tribal council meets at least bimonthly. Standing committees address issues of housing and constitutional process.

In 1994, the Tribe filed a petition for federal recognition with the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The petition was placed on the "ready for active" list in 1997. Rather than moving closer to resolving the Tribe's status, with each passing year the BIA's estimated final determination has become even more remote. In 1997, the Tribe was told it would take another one to two years to complete action on the petition. In 1998, the BIA said it would take two to three years. Now, in 1999, the BIA expects it will take another nine to twelve years or more to complete action on the petition.