[2] Hinman alleged that the plaintiffs were allies of or members of "the Wolf Clan — an insurgent group of persons claiming indigenous, but not Accohannock descent — that had attempted to infiltrate the Tribe".
[2] In 2021, the Accohannock Indian Tribe, the Accohannock Indian Tribes Inc., and Michael J. Hinman filed a lawsuit against Clarence Tyler, Jerry Wimbrow, Bill Tapman, Jean Laughman, Vivian Tyler, Sandi Ennis, Julie Gilroy, Kenny Gilroy, Diane Baldwin, and the Honorable Sidney S. Campen Jr., judge of the circuit court in Somerset County, Maryland for "alleged constitutional and statutory violations" and requested a restraining order.
Put differently, Plaintiffs fail to carry their burden of showing that the Tribe is a modern-day successor to, rather than a recreation of, a historic sovereign entity.
... [T]he Accohannock were fully assimilated into the general populations of Virginia and Maryland; its members lived amongst, and intermarried, with white settlers, and largely disclaiming any outward signifiers of their Indian identity.
"[2] The summary continues, "Simply put, Plaintiffs' own evidence suggests that the Tribe is a reincarnation of the historic Accohannock, motivated in part by several members' recent discovery of their ethnicity and genealogy.
"[2] The organization hosts "an annual cultural festival/pow wow and provide[s] educational demonstrations at schools within the eastern shore of Maryland public system, including colleges.