Wisconsin Oneidas, Stockbridge band settle
Dec. 8, 2004

KRISTA J. KARCH
Observer-Dispatch

ABOUT THE TRIBES: STOCKBRIDGE-MUNSEE: The U.S. recognizes the Stockbridge-Munsee, of Wisconsin, as the rightful successor in interest to the Mohican (Mahican) Indians, who once occupied lands in the Hudson and Champlain valleys. The tribe says its most significant religious, cultural and historical sites are located in New York state, and many of its ancestors are buried here. ONEIDA TRIBE OF INDIANS OF WISCONSIN: The Wisconsin Oneida say they are a federally recognized tribe whose membership includes 93 percent of the Oneida people living in the United States. As the Oneidas lost their land in New York during the early 19th century, many moved to Wisconsin and Canada. ONEIDA INDIAN NATION: The New York Oneidas, owners of the Turning Stone Resort and Casino, have been a principal party to the land claim — though they and the state have been unable to finalize an agreement. A Canadian band of Oneidas also is involved in the land claim, but it was not included in the casino agreement announced Tuesday. CAYUGAS and SENECAS: Deals have been made with the Cayuga Indian Nation of New York and the Seneca-Cayuga tribe of Oklahoma to also operate casinos, both in Monticello, about 90 miles northwest of New York City. A third compact is expected to go to the Mohawk Indian Nation.

SETTLEMENT TERMS Here are key terms of the settlement: Oneida Tribe of Wisconsin and Stockbridge-Munsee tribe would assume liability for extinguishing the Oneida Indian land claim. The Oneida Nation of New York would not be part of the deal. Oneida and Madison counties would each get $5 million annually, rising 2 percent each year. Wisconsin Oneidas would get 1,000 acres of land. The two tribes would be allowed to run casinos in the Catskills on lands to be taken in trust by the U.S. government. The tribes will collect and provide state and local taxes on retail goods sold from their Catskill properties. Title of 300,000 acres would be cleared. Source: Gov. George Pataki’s office WHAT’S NEXT? The deal needs the approval from the state Legislature and the U.S. Congress. Pataki wants legislation approved “quickly ... and end once and for all the decades of unrest (and) uncertainty that has resulted from the land claim litigation.” The Oneida Indian Nation in New York has not said whether it would fight the agreement.

A historic land-claim settlement announced Tuesday gives two Wisconsin-based tribes rights to Catskills casinos, but leaves the
claims of the New York Oneidas unresolved.

The Oneida Tribe of Wisconsin gets 1,000 acres of Central New York land and rights to a casino in the Catskills, while the Stockbridge-Munsee Community Band of Mohican Indians also gets rights to a Catskills casino and 333 acres along Interstate 86 near Monticello.

The agreement also gives Oneida and Madison counties $5 million each year.

The tribes will be required to collect
and remit state and local taxes at the Catskills casinos.

“The agreements with the Oneida tribe and the Stockbridge-Munsee will finally end the Oneida Indian land claim,” Gov. George Pataki said in a statement released Tuesday.

The administration said the
agreements with the two Indian tribes effectively end the tribes’ long-standing claims to 250,000 acres of land in Oneida and Madison counties that the Oneidas say was improperly purchased or stolen from them in the 18th and
19th centuries.

“This means we will once and forever have our ancestral homeland reaffirmed in the state of New York,” said Cristina Danforth, chair of the Wisconsin Oneidas located near Green Bay, Wis.

The locations of the Wisconsin
Oneidas’ 1,000 acres have yet to be determined, but state officials said it
will come from state-owned parcels.

The settlement, which needs approval from the state Legislature and federal officials, is independent of the still-unresolved land claim brought by the New York Oneidas, led by Ray Halbritter and owners of Turning Stone Resort and Casino in Verona. It was harshly criticized Tuesday by the local Oneidas, who were unable to clinch a 2002 deal that would have given them $500 million.

Then, concerns from the federal government and complaints and a lawsuit filed by the Wisconsin Oneidas dashed hopes of the New York Oneidas and local landowners anxious for an agreement.

Now, New York’s Oneidas are looking at the prospect of the Wisconsin Oneidas not only settling their land claim, but gaining the right to operate a casino in New York state.

“It’s wonderful,” said Frances Durant of Verona. “Bring it on. We’ve been held hostage 10 years. Mr. Halbritter needs some competition.”

The New York branch doesn’t believe the Wisconsin Oneidas have any claim to Central New York land.

“The Wisconsin Oneidas sold out and relocated on their own accord about 200 years ago, but now that Pataki is dangling a casino in front of them, they want it,” New York Oneida Nation spokesman Mark Emery said.

“All this means is millions of dollars more going out of state,” he said.
A third band of Oneidas, based in Ontario, Canada, also have an unresolved land claim.

Turning Stone has seen rapid growth in recent years, but now its operators may face significant competition from new Indian casinos in the Catskills, which are 90 miles from New York City.

Last month, the state settled a land claim with the Cayugas of New York with an offer of $250 million and a Catskills casino. The Seneca-Cayuga Tribe of Oklahoma also purchased two Catskills resorts, prompting a television ad campaign by New York’s Oneidas claiming that the governor chooses to send money to other states rather than keep it in New York.

“Just as the Nation predicted, the floodgates are opened, and the governor wants more casinos to give to out-of-state tribes,” Emery said Tuesday.

The settlement announcement came just hours before a meeting with state representatives and residents to discuss an expansion of a portion of Route 365, a road heavily traveled since the Turning Stone Casino and Resort was built near it ten years ago. Angry residents there said tax dollars shouldn’t benefit the casino, which is tax-exempt, but state representatives insisted the expansions would benefit all residents.

Scott Peterman, former president of Upstate Citizens for Equality, a vocal landowners group that has fought against the land claim, called the settlement a “typical Pataki maneuver.”

“I don’t think the governor is capable of striking an acceptable settlement with any of the tribes,” he said at the road meeting.

Peterman would prefer to see the issue in court, with only the Wisconsin Oneidas at the table.

“The Wisconsin Oneidas are the legitimate Indian tribe that Halbritter calls ‘greedy outsiders,’” he said.

Oneida County Executive Joseph Griffo said the settlement protects the rights and futures of landowners in the disputed territory and creates a revenue stream that may help the region’s business climate.

State Sen. Raymond Meier, R-Western, said that while he’s encouraged about a plan to end the land claim, he wants to measure the effect on local governments. Still unresolved is the issue of collecting taxes on commercial enterprises run by the Oneida Nation, Meier said.

“Everyone has to have a chance to read through this and understand it,” Meier said. “We can afford to take a little time to be deliberative.”

Contact Krista J. Karch at kkarch@utica.gannett.com