The Mashantucket Pequots are a small Native American tribe in Connecticut which operates a successful casino.
The Mashantucket Pequots are only one remnant of the Pequots, most of whom were killed in the the Pequot War in 1637. This group is the western Pequot and has a reservation at Ledyard, Connecticut. In 1983 this group gained federal recognition as an Indian tribe. As of 1990 their population was 320.
Historically, their reservation was created by Connecticut in 1666. Over time it had been reduced to less than an acre, and population went as low as 20 or 30 natives. After a successful lawsuit over misappropriated reservation lands they began to expand the reservation by purchases.
Their sucessful casino as opened in 1992 and since then they have used the revenue to continue expanding their reservation to about 1,800 acres. They have also discovered a number of 'missing relatives' as their success continues.
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