Opposition files opinion on Oneida land-trust plan
April 15, 2005

By KRISTA KARCH
Observer-Disptach

Local legislators continued to publicly express concern over the Oneida Indian Nation’s land trust request Thursday and urged the federal Department of the Interior to consider recent action by the U.S. Supreme Court and New York state before approving the application.

The Nation should not attempt to transfer land into federal trust without negotiating with Oneida County, William Croll, R-Vernon, chairman of the county’s Indian Affairs Committee, said in a letter to U.S. Rep. John McHugh, R-Watertown.

“Oneida County has always been in favor of a settlement, but we cannot allow for the checkerboard fashion of ownership to continue,” Croll said. “We have many issues that must be worked out prior to the land being taken into trust.”

The Nation announced Tuesday it has applied to transfer 17,220 acres of non-reservation land it owns in Madison and Oneida counties into federal trust to maintain its tax-exempt status. The move came after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the city of Sherrill could collect property taxes on non-reservation land the Nation owns in the city.

The Supreme Court ruling led other local governments to look into collecting taxes and enforcing other regulations on property the Nation owns outside its 32-acre reservation. Croll said the often-combative relationship between the county and the Nation will continue if the land is transferred into trust before the Nation settles grievances with local governments.

McHugh said in a letter to the Department of the Interior, which administers the trust and will decide on the Nation’s application, that residents of Madison and Oneida counties deserve the chance to pursue a negotiated settlement with the Nation. Madison County Board of Supervisors Chairman Rocco DiVeronica asked the Department of the Interior to withhold any action until land-claim litigation with the state is settled.

Gov. George Pataki proposed a land claim settlement in December that would give the Nation a small percentage of a settlement awarded to the larger Oneida tribe, most of which resides in Wisconsin. Part of the settlement, which also includes four other tribes, allows for the Wisconsin tribe to open its own casino in the Catskills.