Feds back Shinnecock recognition

GARDEN CITY, N.Y. (AP) - A small eastern Long Island Indian tribe seeking federal recognition since the 1970s declared victory Friday after an Interior Department appeals panel rejected a pair of challenges to its application.

The decision, which found the challengers lacked legal standing in the case, clears the way for the Shinnecock Indians to proceed with plans to open a casino at a still-to-be-determined site on Long Island and makes tribal members eligible for federal benefits.

The Shinnecocks were told in June that the Interior Department had approved their application for federal recognition, pending a 30-day comment period.

But a group called the Connecticut Coalition for Gaming Jobs and a faction of the Montauk Indian tribe - also on eastern Long Island - separately filed papers opposing the recognition.

The Interior Department appeals panel ruled Friday, however, that neither group had legal standing to file challenges.