"THE TRIBE OF FOXES"

Just recently a book entitled, "The Tribe of Foxes" which is supposed to be the about the activity's. and lives of the Mashantucket Pequots. The book tells of a lawsuit between one of its casino workers and the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Government.

The subtitle is "the True Inside Story of about the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation." The book is a 207 page paperback.

The book is authored by Walter Leo Fletcher Jr., 50, of Houston, Texas who was at the time of the lawsuit married to a Mashantucket Pequot tribal member. Mr. Fletchecr paid seven thousand dollars ($7,000.00) to Dorrance Publishing of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to produce five thousand dollars (5,000) copies of the book.

The book, the way I understand it, is about how Fletcher who worked for Foxwoods Resort Casino had made up a three (3) page manuscript about the alleged corruption and racial tensions of the reservation. Fletcher alleges he took the manuscript to Tribal Government Officials and told them of the corruption. One of the people he alleged told was former Chairman Richard "Skip" Hayward. He told him he intended to publish a book.

Around this time, the tribe allegedly according to Fletcher, filed sexual harassment charges against him. He then alleges he was dismissed from his job.

He supposedly took the Tribal Government to tribal court. The case before Judge Edward S. O'Connell was dismissed on February 19, 2002. Fletcher said, "The last day of my trial the tribe's lawyer told me, "You'll never get that book published. Well I did."

Fletcher at the time, was married to Patricia Fletcher, who is a Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Member. Patcicia Fletcher was the Director of Education for the tribe. She was later demoted from her job. Around the same time that she was demoted, is when the sexual harassment charges were filed against him. Coincidence?

Walter Fletcher (a Norwich resident at the time) and Patricia Fletcher's marriage ended in divorce. He has since remarried and lives in Houston. Patricia Fletcher still lives on the reservation with her niece. He supposedly is banned from the reservation.

Fletcher would talk about how after the tribal members received their distributions how they would complain about them. He said, "After they got the money, they'd meet and complain about it. The payments were in the hundreds of thousands of dollars."

When he was supposedly asked about what was happening today on the reservation, he said, "Nothings changed."

Can we the Mohegan Tribe learn anything from what happened to the Mashantucket Pequots? Could it happen here? Is the tribal government doing it right for the Mohegan people?

I think, I will try to get a copy of the book "The Tribe of Foxes". It sounds like something, I should read. What do you think?