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The paper will examine the dimensions of rurality in southeastern Connecticut to understand whether the area is truly threatened by the continued existence of Foxwoods Casino Resort (a major tourist attraction), as the white residents of the area assert. Antagonism towards the casino and its alleged environmental threats are a response to the new economic muscle of the Pequots, owners of Foxwoods, who should have 'disappeared' following the Pequot War of 1637. The paper will demonstrate that the non-Indian residents of southeastern Connec ticut appreciate only an abstract aesthetic notion of 'rural' and that they are using this 'quality of life' narrative in an attempt to recover control over all land use in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]