Oneidas don't deny interest in second casino
Feb. 21, 2002

By PATRICK GANNON
Observer-Dispatch

The fact that the Oneida Indian Nation of New York hasn’t negotiated any specific deals or filed an application doesn’t necessarily put it behind in the Catskills casino chase, Nation spokesman Mark Emery said Wednesday.

“Not at all,” he said. “We’re taking a very calculated, different approach.”

The New York Oneidas are one of a handful of tribes interested in a casino downstate. State legislation passed last year paved the way for two Indian-run casinos in Sullivan County and one in Ulster County. But any casinos must be approved by the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs and the state.

The Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohicans, a Wisconsin-based tribe with roots in New York, recently became the second tribe to file a casino application with the Bureau of Indian Affairs. They want to open a casino in Bridgeville in Sullivan County.

Last year, the St. Regis Mohawks filed an application with the federal bureau. The tribe has agreed to pay Sullivan County $15 million a year for a tax-free casino at Kutsher’s Sport’s Academy.

Both tribes hope to gain federal approval this year, but state approval must follow. Both tribes have filed land claims in the state.

A spokesman for Gov. George E. Pataki’s office told the Times Herald-Record in Middletown this week the state won’t approve a new casino deal with any Indian tribe until outstanding land claims are resolved.
As a result, last week’s announcement by the governor that the framework of a settlement had been reached in the Oneidas’ claim to 250,000 acres in Madison and Oneida counties could launch them into the forefront of the Catskills casino hunt.

The Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin, which also is a plaintiff in the same land claim as the New York Oneidas, hopes to use the casino issue as a bargaining chip in land-claim negotiations with the state, according to a December letter from the Wisconsin Oneidas to the governor.

“This settlement could include a casino as provided for under the recent state legislation to substitute for a cash component of a settlement package,” the letter stated.

The governor’s office didn’t return two phone calls Wednesday.

State Assemblyman William Magee, D-Nelson, wants to make sure land claims are settled before gaming compacts are negotiated with tribes with land claim suits. He is a co-sponsor of state legislation that would make that mandatory.

Magee has speculated that the governor’s announcement was made to push ahead the New York Oneidas’ bid for another casino.

The New York Oneidas operate Turning Stone Casino Resort in Verona.

Magee cited the fact that the governor came to Central New York on short notice and provided few details about the proposed land claim agreement.

“That tells me that perhaps this is a way to pave the way to say: ’OK, now it’s alright to give the Oneida Nation a casino because we’ve settled the land claim,’” Magee said.

Make no mistake: The Oneidas would build another casino if the numbers added up.

“They see an opportunity in the Catskills, but it’s got to make sense from a business standpoint,” Nation spokesman Emery said.