Richard Arthur Hayward facts for kids
Richard Arthur Hayward (born November 28, 1947), often called Skip Hayward, was an important leader for the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe. He served as their tribal chairman from 1975 until 1998. Before leading the tribe, he worked as a pipefitter. In 1994, the University of Connecticut gave him a special honorary degree.
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Early Life
Skip Hayward was born on November 28, 1947, in New London, Connecticut. He was one of ten children in his family. Before becoming a tribal leader, he had several different jobs. He even ran a small restaurant that sold clams near the Mystic Seaport.
Rebuilding the Pequot Tribe
The Land Claim
In May 1973, Hayward's grandmother, Elizabeth George, passed away. She was the last person living on the 214-acre (87 ha) Pequot Indian reservation. Because she was the only resident, the land was supposed to go back to the State of Connecticut. However, Hayward's family believed the land should stay with them.
In 1975, Skip Hayward met with Thomas Tureen. Tureen was a lawyer who helped Native American groups. He helped Hayward start a claim for his family's land. They also talked about getting official recognition from the United States government for Hayward's group.
Gaining Recognition
In 1976, the Governor of Connecticut, Ella Grasso, officially recognized Hayward's group as an Indian organization. They called themselves the Western Pequots.
Later, in 1979, the group received a grant of $12,000 from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). This money was for planning how to develop the reservation. They then got a larger loan of $1.2 million from HUD to build 15 houses. Hayward asked his cousin, John Holder, to manage this housing project.
Federal Recognition
By 1982, Hayward and his team found a new way to get federal recognition. Usually, this process involved the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). However, the Western Pequots did not have old records to prove their historical connection to the tribe. So, they found a way to avoid the BIA process.
Their lawyers, Thomas Tureen and Jackson King, worked on a special bill for Congress. This bill asked the government to recognize the Western Pequots. It also asked for money to buy land from other owners. The Senate approved this bill in February 1983.
President Reagan initially vetoed the bill. He worried it would create a bad example for other groups wanting to form new tribes. But Senator Lowell Weicker worked hard to get support for the bill. Many members of Congress threatened to overrule the President's veto. Because of this, President Reagan agreed to a compromise. The Western Pequots officially received federal recognition. They then became known as the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe of Connecticut.
Starting a Casino
Bingo Hall Success
After gaining federal recognition, Hayward and Tureen quickly planned to open a high-stakes bingo hall. Neither of them had experience running a business. So, Hayward found Howard Wilson, an experienced bingo operator from the Penobscot tribe.
The bingo hall opened on July 5, 1986. It was very successful. By 1988, it was making as much as $30 million a year.
Foxwoods Casino
In 1988, a law called the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) was passed. Hayward and Tureen realized that a casino on the reservation could make a lot of money. They found financial supporters from overseas, the Genting Group from Malaysia.
Foxwoods Casino opened its doors in 1992. By 1998, the casino was earning over a billion dollars in revenue. Skip Hayward became a very wealthy person. The Mashantucket Pequot Tribe also grew a lot. From just one person (his grandmother) living on the reservation, the tribe grew to 125 members when Hayward organized the Western Pequots. Today, there are more than 300 members.
Change in Leadership
In 1998, Skip Hayward ran for tribal chairman again but lost the election to Kenny Reels. Hayward had been the chairman since the Western Pequot Indians of Connecticut, Inc. was formed. He tried to become chairman again in 2002 but lost to Michael J. Thomas.
