The
Mashantucket Pequot are a federally recognized
Native American nation in the state of
Connecticut. They are descended from the
Pequot people, one of the
Algonquian-languages family. Within their Reservation in
Ledyard,
New London County,
Connecticut, the Mashantucket Pequot operate
Foxwoods Resort Casino. It is the world's largest resort casino in terms of gambling space and number of
slot machines, and until 2007 one of the most economically successful. By 2012 it was deeply in debt. In the course of its successful federal land claims suit against the state, the tribe achieved federal recognition in 1983 by an act of Congress, as part of the settlement of the suit. It was the eighth tribal nation to have gained recognition through the political rather than administrative process. Tribal membership is based on proven descent from tribal members listed in the 1900 Census. They are one of two federally recognized tribes in Connecticut; the other are the
Mohegan Indian Tribe.