Sherrill tense in advance of court arguments
Jan. 9, 2005

KRISTA J. KARCH
Observer-Dispatch

SHERRILL — Days before the state’s smallest city faces off against one of the country’s wealthiest American Indian nations before the U.S. Supreme Court, some residents were hesitant to share publicly their opinion about the case.

Bob Cornish, an Oneida resident, said residents are worried about repercussions from the Oneida Indian Nation.

“They own every corner in the city of Oneida,” he said.

With emotions still running high after three decades of sparring, the issue has local residents drawing lines in the sand. When asked about the issue, many residents simply shook their heads and remain quiet.

In the no-man’s land that spans western Oneida and eastern Madison counties, the site of the 250,000 acres the Nation claims was illegally taken from them in the 18th and 19th centuries, some landowners say they feel a pinch in their wallets and believe the Oneidas are to blame.

Of more than 17,000 tax-exempt acres owned by the Oneida Indian Nation, just four acres are within the city of Sherrill. The Nation-owned property in the city amounts to a convenience store-gas station and a small textile plant, but it was enough for officials dealing with a cash-strapped budget to threaten eviction if taxes weren’t paid.

The city, bolstered by pro-bono work from high-powered attorneys, and the Nation, standing on the grounds that the federal government has declared their property sovereign, propelled the case to the U.S. Supreme Court. Oral arguments will be heard Tuesday, and a decision is expected in late spring.

“The Oneida Nation is hopeful the Supreme Court will recognize its rights on its reservation land,” Oneida spokesman Mark Emery said. The Oneidas are not making further comments in advance of the court arguments.

For area residents, the decision could affect their pocketbooks.

“My taxes have gone up a lot,” Cornish said. “It seems that (the Nation) doesn’t want to come to a settlement, and it’s costing me money.”

The Nation, which is one of the largest employers in the area, with more than 4,000 people on its payroll, has contributed much to the community, Cornish said, but he doesn’t believe that should preclude it from paying taxes.

Linda Foglino, owner of The Shapely Set in Oneida, believes the Nation should pay taxes, but doesn’t believe they ever will.

“I have two houses,” she said. “Every time they buy something, it goes off the tax roll, and the rest of us pay.”

The Nation has provided much-needed jobs in an economy that has declined for years, but Foglino believes local city and town governments should be compensated for upkeep of the roads and improvements used by the Nation.

Scott Peterman, former president of Upstate Citizens for Equality, a landowner’s advocacy group labeled by the Nation as a “hate group,” prepared late last week to travel to Washington, D.C., with Sherrill city officials and UCE board member Bernie Conklin to hear the arguments.

“I’m going down mainly because it’s history, and it’s probably the only time in my life that I’ll see a U.S. Supreme Court case that directly affects me, where I live,” Peterman said.

During his UCE presidency, Peterman led the group to file claims that the Nation’s current gaming compact, under which they operate their Turning Stone Casino and Resort, is invalid. The state Court of Appeals ruled in 2003 in favor of UCE’s claims.

Now, Peterman is confident the U.S. Supreme Court will offer good news for the city of Sherrill.

“I don’t believe they’ve taken the case to agree with the lower courts,” he said.
David Vickers, the current UCE president, said UCE members are prepared to sit tight until the decision comes in the spring.

“I don’t think there’s going to be any indication which way things are going to go immediately after the oral arguments,” Vickers said. “There will be a lot of speculation back and forth, but speculation is really meaningless.”