Thank you!
Your support is sustaining the future of local news in our communities.

Further rifts and rumblings from Schaghticoke Indian Tribe

KENT — The Schaghticoke Indian Tribe (SIT) wants to meet with the selectmen to discuss tribe status and development plans on SIT land, but no meeting  has been scheduled yet.

The tribe members are asking for the use of their reservation to help tribe members through hard economic times; they promised in a letter not to build a casino.

Meanwhile, there seems to now be a rift within the tribe, with Alan Russell removed from his position as chief.

At the Tuesday, Jan. 6, regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen at Town Hall, the selectmen reviewed a letter from attorney Edward Gasser of Avon, who represents the SIT, asking for a meeting.

“We gave the letter over to Town Attorney Jeffrey Sienkiewicz,� First Selectman Ruth Epstein said. “We have not heard back from him yet. If there was to be any meeting, he has to be in attendance. I can’t say anything else about it.�

SIT, led by Executive Coordinator Michael Rost, is currently developing and constructing The Great American Freedom Pyramid.

Rost has plans for the pyramid that include turning it into a holistic healing spa retreat and recreational facility, with a 2,000- to 5,000-room hotel.

Rost said that, as of Friday, Jan. 9, any meeting with the selectmen is up in the air.

“We’re going to have a meeting with our attorney to discuss what’s going on,� Rost said. “At this point I have no clue of what is going to happen.�

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, Dec. 31, the SIT sent a letter to the selectmen and The Lakeville Journal signed by both Chairman Gail Harrison-Donovan and Vice Chairman Mary MacDonald that said the SIT wishes to develop portions of its reservation in Kent to benefit tribal members in a manner consistent with the tribe’s heritage.

“Presently, a significant number of our members live at or below poverty levels and need the resources that our reservation has in order to exist,� Brooke and MacDonald wrote in the press release. “We cannot emphasize strongly enough that we have no plans or intention to engage in any casino building or casino operation on any land in the state. Furthermore, the tribe makes an unequivocal promise that it will not do so in the future even if it becomes federally recognized.�

A rival faction of the Schaghticokes, calling itself the Schaghticoke Tribal Nation, had sought federal recognition and was rumored to be making plans for a casino in Connecticut.

Donovan and MacDonald wrote that the tribe plans to use the land for improved housing, a cultural center and a hospice facility that “will not only benefit tribal members but also members of the general public.�

The letter also states that former chief Alan Russell has been removed from any position in the tribe and “cannot speak for the tribe in any fashion.�

In response, Russell has started a petition drive against SIT’s plans for the reservation land.

Rost said the petition accused the tribe of using the land as a burial site.

“That’s absurd,� Rost said. “The land does not constitute a burial site.�

The Lakeville Journal attempted to contact Russell several times for this story.

Lakeville Journal

Latest News

Sharon voters split opioid settlement funds between ambulance, regional programs

Sharon voters split opioid settlement funds between ambulance, regional programs

Sharon voters approved splitting $24,000 in opioid settlement funds at an Aug. 27 town meeting.

Alec Linden

SHARON — Sharon voters unanimously approved splitting $24,000 in opioid settlement funds between the town’s ambulance service and a regional fund supporting addiction prevention, harm reduction and mental health services.

The decision Thursday, Aug. 27, came two months after voters rejected an earlier Board of Finance-backed proposal, 27-11, at a June 18 town meeting. Residents had expressed concern about directing all the money, which must be used for opioid remediation, to a regional organization rather than supporting the town’s emergency medical service.

Keep ReadingShow less
municipality

At Peggy Mercury, prep meets punk in ‘Imaginary Concerts’

At Peggy Mercury, prep meets punk in ‘Imaginary Concerts’
Greg Fricke and James Boehmer, co-owners of Peggy Mercury in Kent, recently launched their first fashion line, “Imaginary Concerts.”
Provided

Last month, James Boehmer and Greg Fricke of Peggy Mercury launched their first fashion line, “Imaginary Concerts,” wearable art sold exclusively at their store in the Kent Barns section of Kent, Connecticut.

The two fashion industry veterans opened Peggy Mercury more than two years ago, and a quick visit will tell you that people are finding what they’re looking for at the beauty and lifestyle store. But what they’re looking for is never standard.

Keep ReadingShow less
fashion

“Girlbomb” at 20

“Girlbomb” at 20
Photo by Jessica YurkoMillerton author Janice Erlbaum will celebrate the 20th anniversary of her memoir “Girlbomb” at Black Rabbit Dispensary on Sept. 5.
Photo by Jessica YurkoMillerton author Janice Erlbaum will celebrate the 20th anniversary of her memoir “Girlbomb” at Black Rabbit Dispensary on Sept. 5.
With memoir...the character only knows what the character knows.
—Janice Erlbaum

In “Girlbomb: A Halfway Homeless Memoir,” published in 2006, author Janice Erlbaum wrote about the years after she left her family’s Brooklyn apartment at 15, moving through shelters, group homes, squats, clubs and the streets of 1980s New York while somehow continuing to attend high school. The book has sold more than 75,000 copies, stayed in print for two decades and continues to find new readers.

Now Erlbaum, 57, lives in Millerton and on Saturday, Sept. 5, at 7:30 p.m., she will celebrate the 20th anniversary of “Girlbomb” with a reading at Black Rabbit Dispensary. The event is open to the public and will be livestreamed on Instagram.

Keep ReadingShow less
our community
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.

Spencertown’s 21st Festival Of Books

Spencertown’s 21st Festival Of Books
Joshua Jelly-Schapiro, author of “Daylight Come: Harry Belafonte and the World He Made” is one of thefeatured authors at the Spencertown Academy Festival of Books on Saturday, Sept. 5.
Mirissa Neff

On Saturday, Sept. 5, the Spencertown Academy Arts Center in Spencertown, New York, will host its 21st annual Book Festival.

With over 20,000 gently used books, CDs, DVDs and vinyl donated by the community, it took volunteers 45 days — and an estimated 750 hours —to set the whole thing up. Most of that time was spent sorting through the vast troves of donations and organizing them by category.

Keep ReadingShow less
community

Paul Newman racing doc to screen in North Canaan on Sunday

Paul Newman racing doc to screen in North Canaan on Sunday
“Winning: The Racing Life of Paul Newman,”will be screened Sunday, Sept. 6, at the Colonial Theatre in North Canaan.
Provided

On Sunday, Sept. 6, Lime Rock Park will host a screening of the documentary “Winning: The Racing Life of Paul Newman” at the Colonial Theatre in North Canaan at 7 p.m.

Newman was one of the most celebrated actors of the 20th century, known for films including “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” “Hud” and “Cool Hand Luke.” His 1969 film “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” also began a decades-long friendship with co-star Robert Redford.

Keep ReadingShow less
film

Community to take center stage at Dive Barn

Community to take center stage at Dive Barn

A scene from last year’s Dance Barn.

Steven Tayler

On Sunday, Sept. 6, PS21 in Chatham, New York, will host a celebration of community through dance at its second annual Dive Barn performance at the organization’s Dance Barn.

Dive Barn is the brainchild of dancer, teacher and choreographer Sayer Mansfield, who has dedicated her life to contemporary and experimental dance. She studied in the Department of Dance at NYU Tisch School of the Arts and at the Salzburg Experimental Academy of Dance. She’s performed with companies including Pilobolus, Compagnie Marie Chouinardand Mark Morris Dance Group. Her work has been featured in films including “Little Women,” “Maestro” and “Sproutland.” She has served on the faculties of Jacob’s Pillow, Phillips Academy Andover, as well as Harvard and Yale Universities.

Keep ReadingShow less
dance
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.