Halbritter calls for return to talks
Apr. 14, 2000

By R. PATRICK CORBETT
Observer-Dispatch

Oneida Indian Nation Representative Raymond Halbritter Thursday called on the leaders of Oneida and Madison county to return to the bargaining table to settle the Oneida land claim to 250,000 acres in the two counties.

“It is worth remembering that the land claim is about what compensation the Oneidas should receive for the loss of their land,” Halbritter said in a letter to Oneida County Executive Ralph Eannace Jr. and Madison County Board of Supervisors Chairman Rocco DiVeronica.

The Supreme Court ruled in 1985 that the Oneidas have the right to sue for compensation for land that was wrongfully taken from them in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

“The problem now,” Halbritter wrote, “is that the counties and the state will not agree to settle unless they receive money.”

He said the Oneidas are willing to give the counties $25 million of the money the Oneidas themselves were offered by the state and federal governments to settle the claim.

“The counties should not walk away from this offer and force further litigation and a trial where you would get nothing,” Halbritter wrote.

Eannace said he disagrees with many of the statements in Halbritter’s letter, but does agree that the most important aspect is to continue negotiations for a settlement.

Halbritter also called on county leaders “to stop playing politics and get down to the business of settling this dispute.”

The politics, he said, include threats to withdraw the deputization agreement for the Oneida Indian Nation Police Department and unfounded accusations that the Oneidas are illegally dredging Oneida Creek near their marina on Oneida Lake.

The county leaders and Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., complained to the U.S. Justice Department Wednesday about the dredging and asked that it be halted.

Halbritter wrote that “most politicians proceeded without knowing, or deliberately ignored, the facts and the law, criticizing the Nation unfairly.”

The dredging, being done under an Army Corps of Engineers nationwide permit, allows marinas to clear waterways to keep their businesses accessible. No individual permit is required.

Corps spokeswoman Nancy Sticht said Thursday, “The (Oneida Creek) project was coordinated with us and the New York state Department of Environmental Conservation well in advance ... and the Oneidas are following all the guidelines that are protective of the environment.”

She added, “We have a long history of cooperation with (the Oneidas).