PHOTO: Former Gov. David A. Paterson, center, signed a settlement agreement among the state, Madison County, Sullivan County and the town of Stockbridge in November. He is pictured here, flanked by by Stockbridge-Munsee President Kimberly Vele, left, and Madison County Board of Supervisors Chairman John M. Becker (R,C,I – Sullivan).
‘It’s too bad; it was a good deal for the tribe, the state, the towns and the counties’
Martha E. Conway
(Wampsville – Feb. 18, 2010) While Oneida Indian Nation officials applauded the action of the Department of Interior late Friday afternoon, Madison County and Stockbridge-Munsee leaders expressed disappointment that an agreement reached between the two parties, the town of Stockbridge, Sullivan County and New York state was shot down at the federal level Feb. 18.
Gov. David A. Paterson visited Madison County in November to sign an agreement with the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohicans, Madison County and the town of Stockbridge; the agreement would have ended the Stockbridge-Munsees’ 23,000-acre land claim in Madison County in exchange for acreage and the right to build a casino in Sullivan County.
“The Oneida Indian Nation today applauded the U.S. Department of Interior’s rejection of the compact signed between the Stockbridge Munsee Tribe of Wisconsin and the State of New York,” wrote OIN Director of Media Relations Mark Emery Friday. “The compact, signed in November and opposed by a range of groups and elected officials, is on the last day of a 45-day review process. The proposed compact would have been the first step in a long process toward allowing the Wisconsin tribe to build and operate a casino in Sullivan County; with this rejection, that process has been stopped in its tracks at the very beginning.”
“The Department of Interior today confirmed what we’ve been saying from the moment this compact was signed – the Stockbridge Munsee have no legitimate claims to the lands of New York, and therefore this process was always destined to fail,” said Ray Halbritter, Oneida Indian Nation Representative. “The elected officials that tried to push this deal through did a disservice to all people in New York by attempting to rewrite history to fit their narrow political interests. The Department of Interior made clear today that in our country, historical agreements matter. New York State will ultimately be stronger because of today’s decision.”
The release alleges that “…the compact was signed in secrecy and without public input prior to being signed by former New York Governor David Paterson and the Wisconsin Stockbridge-Munsee Tribe.”
“The compact would have allowed for the construction of a casino along a one-mile stretch of the Neversink River in Sullivan County,” Emery wrote. “Unlike the Oneida Indian Nation which has been here since time immemorial, the Stockbridge-Munsee have no historical claims to land in this state. No federal agency, no federal court, no federal body has ever recognized any legitimate claim of the Stockbridge Munsee to lands in New York.”
“Moving forward from this decision, the State should work in good faith with the federally recognized sovereign tribal governments within its borders to address the pressing issues that confront our communities,” Halbritter said. “New York is our shared home and we are committed to working together in a fair and respectful way to ensure the state’s success.”
In articles written by Charles V. Bagli of the New York Times and Michael Gormley for the Associated Press, Vele called the decision a setback for the tribe, the state and the Catskills.
“It is disheartening that the U.S. Department of the Interior has done an 11th-hour about-face by failing to support and finalize these agreements,” Vele said. “While we believe the department’s rationale is weak, we are committed to resolving the issues [about the land].”
Gormley’s AP piece reported that the effort sought to combine two complex and usually separate issues, a casino application and settlement of ancestral land claims, “…in a novel legal approach.”
“Yes, and that novel legal approach was conceived by the Justice Department and the Department of the Interior, who held [the Stockbridge-Munsees’ hands] all the way through this process,” Becker said Saturday afternoon. “Then this happened. Suddenly everyone turned tail and ran.”
The proposed settlement agreement not only incensed the Oneida Indian Nation in neighboring Oneida County, but also other establishments capitalizing on legal gaming opportunities. Further polarizing the state and tribes is Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s determination to collect excise tax on cigarettes sold to non-Indian customers at tribal enterprises.
U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer is not giving up on the matter.
“This project would have created jobs and economic development in a region that desperately needs it, but it’s not the end of the line,” U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer told the Associated Press Friday. “I will continue to work with local leaders and the state to pursue all available options.”
“It’s too bad,” Becker said. “This was a good deal for the Stockbridge-Munsees, New York state, the towns and counties. The only one it wasn’t good for was Ray Halbritter and the rest of the Oneida Indian Nation leadership. We were told by Justice and the Interior that if we could make a deal locally, to do it. Then they shoot it down. We did what everyone wanted us to do locally, and Washington, D.C., screwed us again.”
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