Governor Carcieri hopes to meet with the chief sachem of the Narragansett Indian Tribe in the coming weeks to begin to hash out issues dividing the two.

MASHANTUCKET, Conn. -- Hundreds of years ago, the Narragansett Indians scoured Narragansett Bay for fish, quahogs and clams. Yesterday, the tribe launched a new business based on that coastal tie.

The U.S. Department of Interior attempted to change the rules on the Narragansett Indian Tribe's lands by signing off on deeds that strike any reference to state jurisdiction.

But the larger issues behind the July 14 melee are "seemingly irreconcilable differences" about the rights of the Narragansetts to make money on tribal land "without the approval and revenue participation of the State of Rhode Island," the committee wrote in its report, released last night.

The Independent Review Committee was created by Gov. Donald L. Carcieri on Friday, July 25, 2003, to "independently review the facts and circumstances leading up to and surrounding" the State Police raid on the Narragansett Indian smoke shop on July 14, 2003. The Committee conducted open interviews with principal participants in the incident, reviewed the history of state-tribe relations, and consulted available documents and experts concerning cigarette sales on tribal lands.

PROVIDENCE -- There's blame to be shared among Governor Carcieri, the Rhode Island State Police and the Narragansett Indian tribe over a turbulent state police raid at the tribe's tobacco shop, according to a panel that reviewed the raid.