Editing Mashantucket Pequot Tribe (section)

==Controversies==
The Bureau of Indian Affairs had established criteria by which tribes seeking recognition had to document cultural and community continuity, a political organization, and related factors. Among the criteria are having to prove continuous existence as a recognized community since 1900, with internal government and tribal rules for membership.

In 1993, [[Donald Trump]] said that the owners of Foxwoods casino "did not look like real Indians."<ref name="post">[https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/donald-trumps-long-history-of-clashes-with-native-americans/2016/07/25/80ea91ca-3d77-11e6-80bc-d06711fd2125_story.html "Donald Trump's Long History of Clashes with Native Americans"], ''Washington Post'', 25 July 2016</ref><ref>[http://fox61.com/2016/07/07/connecticut-tribal-leaders-speak-out-against-trumps-remarks/ "Connecticut Tribal Leaders Speak Out against Trump's Remarks"], FOX 61, 07 July 2016</ref> He became a key investor with the Paucatuck Eastern Pequots who were seeking federal recognition.<ref>[http://www.courant.com/politics/hc-trump-connecticut-years-20161013-story.html "Trump, the Connecticut Years"], ''Hartford Courant'', 13 October 2016</ref>

In his book ''Without Reservation: The Making of America's Most Powerful Indian Tribe and Foxwoods the World's Largest Casino'' (2001), [[Jeff Benedict]] argues that the Mashantuckets are not descended from the historical Pequot tribe, but rather from the [[Narragansett people]].<ref name=WithoutReservation/>  Spokesmen for the Pequots denounced the book and asserted that Benedict's genealogical research was inherently flawed, as it failed to reflect the correct descendant lineages for the Mashantucket Pequot people identified on the 1900 and 1910 U.S. Censuses. [[Laurence M. Hauptman|Laurence Hauptman]] argued with Benedict's assertions on the genealogy of current members,<ref name="indiangaming.org"/> and anthropologist [[Katherine Spilde|Katherine A. Spilde]] also criticized it.<ref>[http://www.indiangaming.org/library/articles/novel-attack.shtml Katherine A. Spilde, "A Review": Jeff Benedict, ''Without Reservation: The Making of America’s Most Powerful Indian Tribe and Foxwoods, the World’s Largest Casino''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081012032535/http://www.indiangaming.org/library/articles/novel-attack.shtml |date=2008-10-12 }}, ''Indian Gaming'', 17 March 2009</ref>