Connecticut to Withhold Funding From Towns Appropriating Indigenous Culture Under New Law

Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont last Wednesday signed a bill into law that, beginning next year, will strip 12 local communities of state funding if they keep names or images appropriating Native American culture.

The new law, part of an 837-page implementor budget, was introduced by Sen. Cathy Osten, D-Sprague, whose district includes the states' two federally recognized tribes, the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan Tribal Nations. Osten said she forwarded the legislation in response to requests from all five tribal governments-the remaining are state-recognized-in Connecticut.

"While some people say 'we're just trying to honor the Native American community, you can't honor somebody if they don't think you're honoring them," Sen. Osten told Native News Online.

https://nativenewsonline.net/currents/connecticut-to-withhold-funding-from-towns-appropriating-indigenous-culture-under-new-law