The first David Sikora heard of the Seneca-Cayuga Tribe of Oklahoma looking again to build a casino resort within the Sennett town supervisor's jurisdiction was last weekend's Sunday morning paper.
He was surprised the tribe first contacted Cayuga County Legislature Chairman Herb Marshall and did not include town officials in their courting of public officials' support. The tribe wants local backing of an application to the state for a gaming compact for a proposed $200 million resort complex on Route 34 in Sennett.
Even now, after the tribe's chief has submitted an open letter to the community about the resort plans, Sikora still has not heard from anyone directly involved.
“If they want a casino in the town of Sennett, you'd think they would like to court us,” Sikora said.
The news of the tribe shifting its sights from the Catskills back to Cayuga County for large-scale gaming first came with the leak to The Citizen of a Sept. 22 letter sent from the tribe to Marshall seeking support of the proposed plan. Sikora said he and the other town board members will be as receptive and open-minded about the tribe seeking a casino with Sennett as they are to any other business seeking to site manufacturing, housing developments or restaurants in Sennett. The sticking point, Sikora said, will be the tribe paying taxes and not having any sovereign territory.
“We're receptive to anybody who comes to our porthole in the town of Sennett,” Sikora said “This is business as usual. We give respect and dignity to everybody.”
Following the leak to The Citizen, Seneca-Cayuga Tribe of Oklahoma Chief Paul Spicer wrote an open letter to county residents. It outlines many of the same proposals made in the letter to Marshall:
- Giving up land claim rights.
- Paying all state, county, town and school taxes on a $200,00,000 resort and casino facility.
- Paying 25 percent of the slot drop to the state.
- Paying $5 million for a period of 20 years to be divided between Cayuga County, the city of Auburn, the town of Sennett and the Weedsport School District.
Any gaming compact would require the tribe to have some land taken into trust by the Department of Interior because of the state constitution's barring of large-scale gaming.
The Seneca-Cayugas are seeking a 90-acre parcel to be taken into trust but said the sovereign status of the land will not affect the enforceability of agreements with the community. They said the agreements will be enforceable in federal court and would allow local municipalities and the state to shut down the facility if the tribe does not meet the conditions of its agreements.
Spicer refused further comment to The Citizen about the tribe's gambling hopes, saying the letter spoke for itself and citing the paper's editorials against tribal sovereignty and casinos.
“Never in the history of America has an Indian nation made such an economic proposal to a community,” Spicer wrote. “We do so with the hope and expectation of forming a true economic partnership that will benefit the tribe, all areas in the community, and hopefully provide a basis for additional economic development in the community.”
The tribe's casino plans are preliminary. Gov. George Pataki spokesman Saleem Cheeks said the state is not currently negotiating with the tribe and hasn't received any informal or formal applications about a Cayuga County casino site.
Two New York-based tribes, the Cayuga Nation, the Seneca-Cayugas' land claim partner, and the Oneida Nation expressed opposition to the Miami, Okla., tribe establishing a casino in the state.
Unlike the Cayuga Nation, which is seeking a return to its homeland, the Seneca-Cayugas are “reservation shopping,” said Dan French, the attorney for the Cayugas' current federal representative, Clint Halftown.
“They're no longer from New York,” French said. “They have their own reservation in Oklahoma. They have casinos in Oklahoma. They don't care about their ancestral lands. They want to take advantage of the economic situation in New York. It has noting to do with returning to their historic homeland.”
While the Seneca-Cayugas said it has legal opinions conveying it can waive sovereignty in order to enter an agreement like the one it proposes with localities, French is confident Congressional and state residents' opposition to an out-of-state tribe establishing a casino will prevail. Federal approval would be necessary for the agreement to succeed.
Oneida Nation spokesman Mark Emery said the Oneidas have the same opposition to the Seneca-Cayugas establishing a casino in Cayuga County as they expressed to the Seneca-Cayugas establishing a casino in the Catskills.
The Oneidas have argued against an out-of-state tribe establishing a casino in New York because of concerns of tribal sovereignty for New York-based tribes and opening a floodgate to out-of-state casinos. Other out-of-state tribes with historic roots in New York and land claims in the state include the Oneidas of Wisconsin and the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican Indians.
The Seneca-Cayugas are working on this latest proposal with Caywil of New York LLC, an entity formed by Thomas C. Wilmot, the chairman of shopping mall developer Wilmorite. Caywil was the original partner in the Seneca-Cayugas effort to open a gaming facility in Aurelius. They later moved to work with casino developer Empire Resorts on a Catskills project, but the agreement with Empire has since fallen apart.
Caywill is working to purchase between 300 and 400 acres on Route 34 in Sennett, about three to four miles south of the New York State Thruway exit.
The latest Cayuga County casino push by the Seneca-Cayugas comes after two significant court decisions went against the strength of the tribe's land claim. A March U.S. Supreme Court ruling in the city of Sherrill vs. Oneida Indian Nation case said tribes do not have automatic sovereignty over lands they purchase on the open market and must pay taxes.
Then a June decision by the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed the Seneca-Cayugas land claim, but did not overturn the lower court finding the land was obtained by New York in violation of the 1790s federal Non-Intercourse Act.
Staff writer Amaris Elliott-Engel can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 282 or at amaris.elliot-engel@lee.net
Even now, after the tribe's chief has submitted an open letter to the community about the resort plans, Sikora still has not heard from anyone directly involved.
“If they want a casino in the town of Sennett, you'd think they would like to court us,” Sikora said.
The news of the tribe shifting its sights from the Catskills back to Cayuga County for large-scale gaming first came with the leak to The Citizen of a Sept. 22 letter sent from the tribe to Marshall seeking support of the proposed plan. Sikora said he and the other town board members will be as receptive and open-minded about the tribe seeking a casino with Sennett as they are to any other business seeking to site manufacturing, housing developments or restaurants in Sennett. The sticking point, Sikora said, will be the tribe paying taxes and not having any sovereign territory.
“We're receptive to anybody who comes to our porthole in the town of Sennett,” Sikora said “This is business as usual. We give respect and dignity to everybody.”
Following the leak to The Citizen, Seneca-Cayuga Tribe of Oklahoma Chief Paul Spicer wrote an open letter to county residents. It outlines many of the same proposals made in the letter to Marshall:
- Giving up land claim rights.
- Paying all state, county, town and school taxes on a $200,00,000 resort and casino facility.
- Paying 25 percent of the slot drop to the state.
- Paying $5 million for a period of 20 years to be divided between Cayuga County, the city of Auburn, the town of Sennett and the Weedsport School District.
Any gaming compact would require the tribe to have some land taken into trust by the Department of Interior because of the state constitution's barring of large-scale gaming.
The Seneca-Cayugas are seeking a 90-acre parcel to be taken into trust but said the sovereign status of the land will not affect the enforceability of agreements with the community. They said the agreements will be enforceable in federal court and would allow local municipalities and the state to shut down the facility if the tribe does not meet the conditions of its agreements.
Spicer refused further comment to The Citizen about the tribe's gambling hopes, saying the letter spoke for itself and citing the paper's editorials against tribal sovereignty and casinos.
“Never in the history of America has an Indian nation made such an economic proposal to a community,” Spicer wrote. “We do so with the hope and expectation of forming a true economic partnership that will benefit the tribe, all areas in the community, and hopefully provide a basis for additional economic development in the community.”
The tribe's casino plans are preliminary. Gov. George Pataki spokesman Saleem Cheeks said the state is not currently negotiating with the tribe and hasn't received any informal or formal applications about a Cayuga County casino site.
Two New York-based tribes, the Cayuga Nation, the Seneca-Cayugas' land claim partner, and the Oneida Nation expressed opposition to the Miami, Okla., tribe establishing a casino in the state.
Unlike the Cayuga Nation, which is seeking a return to its homeland, the Seneca-Cayugas are “reservation shopping,” said Dan French, the attorney for the Cayugas' current federal representative, Clint Halftown.
“They're no longer from New York,” French said. “They have their own reservation in Oklahoma. They have casinos in Oklahoma. They don't care about their ancestral lands. They want to take advantage of the economic situation in New York. It has noting to do with returning to their historic homeland.”
While the Seneca-Cayugas said it has legal opinions conveying it can waive sovereignty in order to enter an agreement like the one it proposes with localities, French is confident Congressional and state residents' opposition to an out-of-state tribe establishing a casino will prevail. Federal approval would be necessary for the agreement to succeed.
Oneida Nation spokesman Mark Emery said the Oneidas have the same opposition to the Seneca-Cayugas establishing a casino in Cayuga County as they expressed to the Seneca-Cayugas establishing a casino in the Catskills.
The Oneidas have argued against an out-of-state tribe establishing a casino in New York because of concerns of tribal sovereignty for New York-based tribes and opening a floodgate to out-of-state casinos. Other out-of-state tribes with historic roots in New York and land claims in the state include the Oneidas of Wisconsin and the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican Indians.
The Seneca-Cayugas are working on this latest proposal with Caywil of New York LLC, an entity formed by Thomas C. Wilmot, the chairman of shopping mall developer Wilmorite. Caywil was the original partner in the Seneca-Cayugas effort to open a gaming facility in Aurelius. They later moved to work with casino developer Empire Resorts on a Catskills project, but the agreement with Empire has since fallen apart.
Caywill is working to purchase between 300 and 400 acres on Route 34 in Sennett, about three to four miles south of the New York State Thruway exit.
The latest Cayuga County casino push by the Seneca-Cayugas comes after two significant court decisions went against the strength of the tribe's land claim. A March U.S. Supreme Court ruling in the city of Sherrill vs. Oneida Indian Nation case said tribes do not have automatic sovereignty over lands they purchase on the open market and must pay taxes.
Then a June decision by the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed the Seneca-Cayugas land claim, but did not overturn the lower court finding the land was obtained by New York in violation of the 1790s federal Non-Intercourse Act.
Staff writer Amaris Elliott-Engel can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 282 or at amaris.elliot-engel@lee.net