From the NYTs:
ALBANY — Gov. David A. Paterson has endorsed an Indian tribe’s bid for federal recognition, an important step for a tribe that wants to build the first casino in New York City or its suburbs.
Mr. Paterson is the first governor to make such a public embrace of the marathon effort by the Shinnecock Indian Nation to gain recognition. In a Sept. 22 letter to Ken Salazar, the secretary of the interior, the governor wrote, “to say federal recognition of the Shinnecock is long overdue would be an understatement” and called for the Obama administration to recognize the tribe, which is based in Southampton, N.Y.
Tribal leaders hailed his move as a key victory, because the federal government is in the final stages of considering the tribe’s application and might have been deterred without support from the governor.
“There have been a lot of things said about Governor Paterson in the media,” said Randy King, the chairman of the tribe. “Politics is a rough business. To us, he’s a man of principle.”
Turtle Talk 