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Oneida Nation Leader Speaks Out Against Proposed Catskill Casino

Posted on November 27th, 2010

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The recent agreement between the state government, represented by Governor David Paterson, and a Native American tribe, based in Wisconsin, to allow the construction of a casino is generating a lot of supporters, as well as opposition. The tribe and the local government are in full support of the move, as this would mean income for both sides and the possibility of income and employment opportunities for the residents of Catskills. However, one of the loudest opponents of the move happens to be another Native American tribe as well. The Oneida Indian Nation is included in the crusade to eventually stop the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohicans from building a casino near their land.

The tribe’s leader, Ray Halbritter, headed criticisms on the agreement between Gov. David Paterson’s and the tribe and prophesied that other than an agreement, nothing feasible will really ever come out of it. He expressed his distress and disappointment at the governor for letting the proposed land-claim settlement with the tribe be settled in a secret manner. He said, “There was not one public hearing; there was not one public discussion; there was nothing. You don’t do things in secret unless you’ve got something to hide.”

Last Monday, the governor made an announcement that he has reached an agreement with the Wisconsin tribe on the construction of a $700-million casino in Sullivan County, on the condition that the Stockbridge-Munsee Band would give up its close-to-40-year-old claim to land in Madison County spanning 23,000 acres. With the deal closed and much fanfare connected to it, onlookers predict that the deal will be facing several hurdles ahead. Inudstry analysts say that the agreement will be trashed in the Federal level.

Halbritter, who heads a nation that owns Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, claimed that the Oneidas are looking into what their legal options are to ensure that the casino will be blocked from being built in Monticello. He talked about his opposition to the deal and other gambling-related concerns in a phone interview with the press. Asked about what his words for the governor are, he said that despite seemingly being a nice enough person, it is stime for the governor to go. He explains, “It’s a shame that he spent what some people say is a legacy in lost opportunity. That probably, to me, was the hallmark of his tenure as governor. It was just lost opportunity.”

He explains that they oppose the agreement because the tribe is an outsider and does not really care about the area. He claims that tribes that come from out of the state think they can do anything because they do not consider the area their home. Asked if the deal is an effort by Governor Paterson to divide and conquer the Indian nations of New York, Halbritter said that it is most definitely the case. He said, “I think the state is trying to tell the Indian nations to some degree that, ‘If you don’t sell your souls to us, we’re going to get people who will sell their souls to us,’ and that’s why we just won’t do it. The Indians in this state aren’t willing to do it. We have treaties that exist that this flies in the face of and (the in-state tribes) are not going support it or participate.”

He also claimed that the agreement between the state government and the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohicans is in direct violation of the existing norms with regard to the approval of trust land applications by the Interior Department for casino building purposes. He expressed that there is a possibility for a tribe from out of New York to open a casino in the state, but he surmises that there will be a lot of backroom negotiations by the tribe for its plans to be realized. He also said that there is no doubt that his tribe will fight to have that possibility dimmed.