Editorial: Deals with Indians a good sign
Dec. 13, 2004

Gov. George Pataki is betting that by working with out-of-state Indian tribes he has the right hand to settle centuries-old Indian land claims, secure deals for five casinos in the Catskills and reap a tidy windfall for the state.

After years of refusing to do so, Pataki has negotiated agreements with three out-of-state Indian tribes from Wisconsin and Oklahoma in the last month.

The efficacy of building the state’s economy on gambling — an often addictive and destructive behavior — can certainly be questioned, but those cards have been dealt; there’s no going back now.

And it is certainly in the state’s best interest to settle the land claims, particularly for the residents who live in the disputed areas; this could be a major step forward in that regard.

“(The agreements) would also present a huge opportunity to extinguish billions of dollars of potential liability to the state and instead, create thousands of new jobs and generate billions of dollars for New York’s economy,” said Todd Alhart, a Pataki spokesman.

That’s by far the rosiest view of this development, and it would be nice to see all of that come to fruition, but there is a long way to go from here to there.

First, Congress and the state Legislature have to approve the settlement deals — over the objections of the New York Oneidas. There is also the matter of amending the law to allow an additional two casinos in the Catskills; right now there is provision for only three. And there is a lawsuit filed against Pataki by some Catskills residents over the constitutionality of the casinos.

The objections of the New York Oneidas are particularly troubling. The Nation’s argument that the deals “send money out of state” is spurious. National and multi-national companies do business all over New York state; they create jobs and pay taxes here, just as the tribes would under the proposed gaming compacts.

Following the Oneidas’ logic, if Microsoft — based in Washington state — was proposing locating an operation here, we’d be obliged to turn it down because a portion of its profits would, no doubt, be sent back to its headquarters “out of state.”

Would turning Microsoft down be good for New York? Of course not; neither is turning down the opportunities presented by the Catskill casinos.

The Oneida Nation would better spend its time trying to reach its own deal if it wants one rather than disrupting the negotiations of other tribes. The New York Oneidas have benefited from their casino operation; it’s not surprising that other tribes are seeking to do the same. The federal courts have established these tribes all have land-claim rights in New York. And their good fortune in settling these claims can benefit all New Yorkers.

Alhart further characterized the potential settlements as providing “a historic opportunity to resolve the major land claims in New York and would effectively end decades of unrest and uncertainty for hundreds of thousands of property owners and taxpayers in the various land claim areas around the state.”

That is an ideal that everyone should be working toward.