Halbritter blasts claim plan
Mar 15, 2005

By KRISTA J. KARCH

SYRACUSE — Oneida Indian Nation CEO and Representative Ray Halbritter warned a panel of state Assembly members Friday of the possible consequences of Gov. George Pataki’s land-claim settlement proposal.

Speaking at a public hearing, Halbritter called Pataki’s proposal a “bizarre, unworkable plan.”

The settlement proposal treats the New York Oneidas as a part of the larger Oneida population, most of which is based in Wisconsin. The Wisconsin-based Oneidas would be awarded 1,000 acres of Upstate New York land and a Catskills casino. The New York Oneidas would be given a small percentage of the settlement.

Since the settlement announcement, Halbritter’s government has released a flurry of television and radio advertisements critical of the settlement, stating that Pataki is “opening the floodgates” to out-of-state tribes.

Halbritter told the panel that once those tribes were given settlements within New York state, they would claim immunity from state regulatory, civil and tax laws, protection from all legal action by reason of tribal sovereignty, the power to form a tribal police force, and the power to engage in unregulated trade with all other Indian nations in the state.

Halbritter told the panel that if the settlement receives state and federal approval by the Sept. 1 deadline, “many years of litigation” would follow.

The hearing, held in the Onondaga County Courthouse, was the first in a series chaired by an Assembly committee to hear from residents of the land-claim areas, as well as local officials and tribal leaders. A series of state Senate hearings was completed earlier this week.

Representatives from the Cayuga Indian Nation of New York, the Oneida Indian Nation of New York, the Seneca-Cayuga Tribe of Oklahoma, the Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin and the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican Indians were present at Friday’s hearing.

When Pataki announced the settlement proposal in December, he said it would end the state’s Indian land claims through awarding tribes a total of five Catskills casinos, portions of land for certain tribes, and agreements that the tribes would collect and remit sales tax and their casinos.

The New York Oneidas are owners of the Turning Stone Casino and Resort in Verona, which does not pay sales tax to New York state. The tribe also has its own police force.

Halbritter’s government reached a settlement with New York state in 2002, but it fell through when the federal government wouldn’t provide what the state said was its half of the $500 million deal.

When asked by Assemblywoman Helene Weinstein, D-Brooklyn, chairwoman of the hearing, whether the current proposal offers a sufficient settlement for the New York Oneidas, Halbritter said no.

“We would be left with nothing but the right to sue,” he said.

Assemblyman James Gary Pretlow, D-Mount Vernon, asked Halbritter about his government’s gaming compact, under which Turning Stone operates. The compact has been ruled invalid by a a state Supreme Court judge three years ago.

“There is no compact, right?” Pretlow asked.

“There is a compact,” Halbritter said.

“But your Assembly never approved it,” Pretlow said.

Halbritter argued that it is not required to have Assembly approval for a gaming compact.

Madison County Supervisor Rocco DiVeronica said he cannot officially support the settlement proposal, but said it was the best he’s seen since the land claims began some 30 years ago. He argued that reservation land should be “compact and contiguous,” not spotted across a region in what is known as “checkerboarding.”

Seneca County Indian Land Claim Committee Chairman Rich Ricci argued passionately against the settlement.

“Please take special note that our towns, counties and state are in jeopardy,” he said. “Our citizens are threatened with eviction. Our business community cannot compete. Special privileges based on ethnic background are not in keeping with our constitution and civil rights laws.”

“It’s out of control,” he said. “It’s total insanity.”

The panel rigorously questioned representatives of the Seneca-Cayuga Nation and the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohicans as to whether either group has a claim to land in New York state at all.

Robert Odawi Porter, director of the Center for Indigenous Law, Governance and Citizenship at Syracuse University’s School of Law and a member of the Seneca Nation, said the settlement could have unpredictable, costly consequences.

He said the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohicans have no historical right to New York state land, and added that Oneidas from Wisconsin and Seneca-Cayugas from Oklahoma don’t have a right to return unless they have clan status and are welcomed by Oneidas and Cayugas who remained in the state.

Assemblywoman RoAnn Destito, D-Rome, who was present at the hearing, said she does not know when the settlement would go to the Legislature for approval. She said the Assembly might schedule additional hearings if needed.

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