Unable to build casinos, several of Connecticut's Native American tribes could instead turn to cannabis.
Connecticut recognizes five Native American tribes and, by law, manages tribal funds. But without federal recognition, three of those tribes have been unable to build a casino or use their land to create jobs for tribal members, they say. State Sen. Cathy Osten, D-Sprague, said the state has essentially taken responsibility for the three state tribes without federal recognition and prevented them from taking care of themselves.
"Everybody thought that everybody was going to do a casino, but a casino is not the only way to make money," she said. "We really need to have something that allows some revenue generating to happen for the state-recognized tribes. When the state law creating Connecticut's recreational cannabis market was passed, it included a provision to allow the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes, both recognized by state and federal authorities, to grow cannabis if they so chose.
Excluded were the Schaghticoke, Paucatuck Eastern Pequot, and Golden Hill Paugussett tribes, all of which are recognized by the state but not the federal government. "I think that they thought the state-recognized tribes weren't yet there, and the bill itself was very hard to pass," Osten said.
Read more at ctinsider.com