Oneidas’ land-claim action: One year later
Dec. 5, 1999

By STEVE FROHNHOEFER
Observer-Dispatch

VERONA — A judicially imposed deadline has leaders scrambling to settle the Oneida Indian Nation before it heads to the courts — a forum with a highly uncertain outcome for all parties and one where several key issues could be ignored.

“I’m optimistic, as I’ve always been, but I’m hopeful we can move the process along a little quicker,” said Ronald J. Riccio, the former Seton Hall University law school dean assigned to mediate the dispute.

By the end of January, Riccio must tell U.S. District Judge Neal McCurn whether a realistic chance exists to negotiate the land claim under his leadership. Otherwise, the mediation process that began last February will be rendered fruitless and a court date set.

In court, broader issues such as taxation of Indian businesses likely would not be addressed — issues mediation has the potential to resolve, Riccio said.
“If I decide there is a reasonable (chance) to settle, what that means is within the next few months after January, we will have an agreement of some kind,” Riccio said.

Oneida County Executive Ralph J. Eannace Jr. said he’s preparing to make a dispute-ending pitch. A recent series of community dialogues has placed county officials in a better position to place a settlement offer on the table, he said.

“I am fully intent on trying to come up with a proposal in these next two months,” Eannace said, stressing any offer would address residents’ concerns.

“Nobody will lose their land, and we’re making sure nobody loses their community.”

Oneida Nation spokesman Mark Emery said eviction of residents is not the Nation’s goal. The Oneidas support Riccio’s efforts wholeheartedly, he said.

“We certainly hope this will be settled through negotiation because everybody will be a winner ... and that’s where you are going to decide all the issues,” Emery said.

Many issues
Riccio has been forced to deal with a myriad of issues — some more contentious than others.

“Each party has issues they’re not willing to yield on,” UCE Homepage Board of Supervisors Chairman Lawrence Carpenter said. “We have made some progress on minor issues, but there have been no major decisions made.”
One big sticking point is the question of what lands would become sovereign, a concept that grants Indian tribes the authority under federal law to rule lands as a nation separate from the United States.

Nobody disputes the Oneidas’ 32-acre reservation along Route 46 in Oneida is sovereign. But some feel the issue of whether other Nation-owned or claimed lands become sovereign will force the issue to court, or worse.

“In 1861, we went to war because South Carolina wanted to be its own country,” Verona Supervisor-elect David K. Reed said. “They want to throw out the Bill of Rights for you and me. I am not willing to live in a nation within a nation.”

Reed, a former judge, said residents’ best chance lies in the courts. When Oneida and UCE Homepage attorneys argued the same issue before the Supreme Court in 1985, they were not well-prepared, he said. This time would be different, he said.

Some drawbacks
But Riccio said litigating the matter has several drawbacks that make a negotiated settlement an attractive option.
First, because the lawsuit deals solely with who owns the 250,000 or so acres the Oneidas claim were taken through questionable treaties with New York state, then title to land and a remedy would be the only issues decided by the courts.

A negotiated settlement, however, could contain solutions to multiple issues — including taxes, sovereignty and the legality of Turning Stone Casino Resort.

“The things that are most troublesome for citizens don’t get decided in litigation,” Riccio said. “The only thing the court will decide is who owns the land.”

Litigation also is a costly and time-consuming process — one that would render one side victorious and leave the other to lick its wounds, officials said.

“One of the reasons (other communities) settled is the landowners wanted to remove the cloud over their homes,” Eannace said, adding he would push for the matter to be heard quickly should negotiations break down.
As a result, most say they want Riccio to continue his role.

“There’s no question that all parties agree this is the way to go,” Carpenter said. “Good things have come out of this.”

Chances of settlement
Leon Koziol, attorney for Upstate Citizens For Equality — the largest landowner group in the two-county region — said he doesn’t believe a settlement will occur. But he will travel to Newark, N.J., to meet with Riccio Friday in hopes that prediction will be proven wrong.

“In light of what we’re dealing with, mediation is the best option,” Koziol said. “This whole land claim is an aberration. You cannot resolve a 200-year-old claim in today’s legal system.”

Riccio said a recent threat against the Oneidas and their enterprises has injected a sense of urgency into negotiations.

“We’re trying to figure out a way to allow the Oneidas and the citizens to live together in peace and harmony,” he said.