SENECA FALLS - Many Seneca County municipal leaders expressed skepticism at the first in-depth public presentation of the proposed settlement of the Cayuga Indian Nation of New York's land claim and land-in-trust applications.
Angela Kershner / The Citizen
Les Noble, of Seneca Falls, left, Ellen Lott, of Fayette, and Rodman Lott, of Seneca Falls, hold up signs to voice their opinions during the information session regarding the Cayuga Nation's proposed land claim settlement at the Seneca Falls Community Center Wednesday.
Les Noble, of Seneca Falls, left, Ellen Lott, of Fayette, and Rodman Lott, of Seneca Falls, hold up signs to voice their opinions during the information session regarding the Cayuga Nation's proposed land claim settlement at the Seneca Falls Community Center Wednesday.
Only members of the boards of the towns of Fayette, Seneca Falls and Varick, the village of Seneca Falls and the Seneca Falls School District were allowed to ask questions Wednesday night of Brian Laudadio, an attorney with the Harris Beach Law Firm who represented Cayuga and Seneca counties in negotiations with Dan French, the Cayugas' attorney.
Kathy Russo, a member of the Varick Town Board, said the proposed settlement seemed to come out of the blue considering the defeat of the Cayugas' land claim litigation after more than 20 years of court fights.
“We felt we were heard but weren't listened to,” Russo said. “I was totally taken by surprise. I was beginning to feel safe. I almost feel like we're being put under excessive pressure.”
Around 30 local officials from the various locations attended. An audience of at least 60 residents filled the Seneca Falls Community Center's gymnasium and applauded their skeptical representatives at various points.
The future of the agreement requires acceptance by both the Cayuga County Legislature and the Seneca County Board of Supervisors.
There has been long-time resistance by the leadership of Cayuga and Seneca counties to the Cayugas having sovereign land, but the turning point toward a deal was a meeting facilitated last fall by U.S. Senator Charles Schumer with leadership from the U.S Department of Interior and leadership from Cayuga, Madison, Oneida and Seneca counties over the applications the Cayugas, the Oneida Nation of New York and other tribes have made to have their federal land taken into trust.
When the Nation's 25-year-old land claim was dismissed in federal court in 2005, the Cayugas applied to the federal government for about 180 acres in Montezuma, Seneca Falls, Springport and Union Springs to be held in sovereign trust status.
James Cason, an associate deputy secretary with the Interior Department, said in that meeting the Cayugas were in a poor position because they are the only federally recognized tribe that is without sovereign land holdings, said Laudadio as he stood at a podium between United States and New York flags.
Following the Washington, D.C., meeting, Laudadio received permission last fall in executive session from the leadership of both counties to begin negotiations, said David Dresser, the Ovid Town Supervisor and chair of Seneca County's Native American Affairs Committee.
The deal, worked out with Laudadio, French and with approval from Richard Rifkin, the special counsel representing Governor Eliot Spitzer on tribal matters, was announced two weeks ago.
Laudadio recommended the counties accept the proposed deal because the Interior Department's Bureau of Indian Affairs is “much more biased than federal courts” and will probably grant some portion of the tribe's trust applications, the proposal would limit both the size and the sprawl of the acreage the tribe can take into trust; and because challenges to trust land have not been successful in other parts of the country.
The Cayugas also will open another Class II gaming facility but larger than the now-closed bingo halls in Seneca Falls and Union Springs, the attorney said.
“It doesn't have tables, doesn't have craps. It has slots, a lot of them,” Laudadio said.
French has repeatedly said the tribe will unilaterally buy land from willing sellers and apply for it to be taken into trust if the counties did not come to the table to dialogue.
“I am making this recommendation because of current federal law. We have to work within its boundaries,” Laudadio said. “If it's not acceptable to the counties, we'll go forward and fight as best as we can.”
The state won't give the Cayugas a gaming compact for a casino unless the land claim is settled, and the Cayugas want to have access to the money-making Class III gaming in the Catskills region with close proximity to New York City and mid-Atlantic markets, Laudadio said.
Peter Same, Seneca Falls town supervisor and a member of the Seneca County Board of Supervisors, said he is skeptical of the proposed agreement, but that the most important issue is to ensure fair distribution of the money Seneca County receives in the deal to the municipalities whose tax bases are the most eroded by the Cayugas' land holdings. Seneca Falls is the only Seneca County municipality in which the Cayugas officially own land at this point.
“It could have a very significant impact on our community and our quality of life,” Same said.
Dresser hopes the deal will be approved if concerns like Same's can be addressed.
“I certainly hope so,” Dresser said. “I certainly think if the concerns of revenue sharing are realized, there's a good chance it will.”
In return for accepting the deal, the Cayugas would be able to pursue a gaming compact with New York to seek Class III gaming, or Las Vegas-style casino, most likely in the Catskills, and designate 10,000 acres of land in Cayuga and Seneca counties as restricted fee land.
Laudadio said he recommended the proposal be accepted because: the Cayuga's 64,000-acre reservation and land claim area would be disestablished by the U.S. Congress; Class II gaming, or electronic bingo halls, and Class III gaming would not be allowed without county approval; the Nation can designate no more than 10,000 acres of open-market property purchases as restricted fee, sovereign land and restricted fee lands must be assembled into three groupings and comprise no more than 20 percent of any municipality; counties would be held harmless against the erosion of its tax base by receiving $12.8 million - $7.74 million would go to Cayuga County and $5.1 million to Seneca County - no matter if the Cayugas have any restricted fee land or not; up to $2.46 million more would be paid based on the amount of land the tribe designated as restricted fee land.
The town of Seneca Falls has 7,536 acres and the village of Seneca Falls has 2,888 acres. Around 12 percent of the village of Union Springs is already owned by the Cayugas.
A Wall Street firm estimated a hypothetical Cayuga casino could have a $492 million slot drop of which the two counties would each receive .5 percent, as well as an additional $3 million not based on the slot drop. Two-thirds would go to Cayuga County and one-third to Seneca County. Localities that have the Cayugas' restricted fee land within their borders would receive a share of the casino revenue directly from the state - .25 percent of the annual slot drop, or up to $1.23 million.
Upstate Citizens for Equality members held signs reading “no separate nation” and “equality for all.” Many of the signs placed on bleachers close to the door were left untouched.
“People at least are questioning something that is being crammed down our throats, something we fought 20 years to win,” said Richard Tallcot, chair of the Cayuga-Seneca UCE chapter.
Gary Wheeler, a member of the Cayuga Nation's council in favor of the settlement, attended the meeting to hear local residents' perspective.But he said he was not authorized to give comment about his reaction to the meeting.
Staff writer Amaris Elliott-Engel can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 282 or at amaris.elliot-engel@lee.net
Anti-Indian sovereignty groups' lawsuit dismissed
On Friday, U.S. District Court Judge David Hurd dismissed a lawsuit brought by anti-Indian sovereignty groups, including the Citizen Equal Rights Alliance and Cayuga County resident Richard Tallcot against five officials from the U.S. Department of Interior and the department's Bureau of Indian Affairs over pending land-in-trust applications filed by five tribes with New York ties.
The decision said the plaintiffs have failed to establish the court's jurisdiction over the trust applications because the applications are still pending and not yet ready to judicial review.
The lawsuit argued that the U.S. Constitution prohibits the federal government from creating federal Indian land by taking Indian land-into-trust because the state of New York, “retains its preemptive rights to all lands within its exterior boundaries” as an original colony that predates the creation other United States.
Tribes with land-in-trust applications in New York say the U.S. Supreme Court told them to follow the land-in-trust process in the city of Sherrill v. the Oneida Indian Nation case.
Kathy Russo, a member of the Varick Town Board, said the proposed settlement seemed to come out of the blue considering the defeat of the Cayugas' land claim litigation after more than 20 years of court fights.
“We felt we were heard but weren't listened to,” Russo said. “I was totally taken by surprise. I was beginning to feel safe. I almost feel like we're being put under excessive pressure.”
Around 30 local officials from the various locations attended. An audience of at least 60 residents filled the Seneca Falls Community Center's gymnasium and applauded their skeptical representatives at various points.
The future of the agreement requires acceptance by both the Cayuga County Legislature and the Seneca County Board of Supervisors.
There has been long-time resistance by the leadership of Cayuga and Seneca counties to the Cayugas having sovereign land, but the turning point toward a deal was a meeting facilitated last fall by U.S. Senator Charles Schumer with leadership from the U.S Department of Interior and leadership from Cayuga, Madison, Oneida and Seneca counties over the applications the Cayugas, the Oneida Nation of New York and other tribes have made to have their federal land taken into trust.
When the Nation's 25-year-old land claim was dismissed in federal court in 2005, the Cayugas applied to the federal government for about 180 acres in Montezuma, Seneca Falls, Springport and Union Springs to be held in sovereign trust status.
James Cason, an associate deputy secretary with the Interior Department, said in that meeting the Cayugas were in a poor position because they are the only federally recognized tribe that is without sovereign land holdings, said Laudadio as he stood at a podium between United States and New York flags.
Following the Washington, D.C., meeting, Laudadio received permission last fall in executive session from the leadership of both counties to begin negotiations, said David Dresser, the Ovid Town Supervisor and chair of Seneca County's Native American Affairs Committee.
The deal, worked out with Laudadio, French and with approval from Richard Rifkin, the special counsel representing Governor Eliot Spitzer on tribal matters, was announced two weeks ago.
Laudadio recommended the counties accept the proposed deal because the Interior Department's Bureau of Indian Affairs is “much more biased than federal courts” and will probably grant some portion of the tribe's trust applications, the proposal would limit both the size and the sprawl of the acreage the tribe can take into trust; and because challenges to trust land have not been successful in other parts of the country.
The Cayugas also will open another Class II gaming facility but larger than the now-closed bingo halls in Seneca Falls and Union Springs, the attorney said.
“It doesn't have tables, doesn't have craps. It has slots, a lot of them,” Laudadio said.
French has repeatedly said the tribe will unilaterally buy land from willing sellers and apply for it to be taken into trust if the counties did not come to the table to dialogue.
“I am making this recommendation because of current federal law. We have to work within its boundaries,” Laudadio said. “If it's not acceptable to the counties, we'll go forward and fight as best as we can.”
The state won't give the Cayugas a gaming compact for a casino unless the land claim is settled, and the Cayugas want to have access to the money-making Class III gaming in the Catskills region with close proximity to New York City and mid-Atlantic markets, Laudadio said.
Peter Same, Seneca Falls town supervisor and a member of the Seneca County Board of Supervisors, said he is skeptical of the proposed agreement, but that the most important issue is to ensure fair distribution of the money Seneca County receives in the deal to the municipalities whose tax bases are the most eroded by the Cayugas' land holdings. Seneca Falls is the only Seneca County municipality in which the Cayugas officially own land at this point.
“It could have a very significant impact on our community and our quality of life,” Same said.
Dresser hopes the deal will be approved if concerns like Same's can be addressed.
“I certainly hope so,” Dresser said. “I certainly think if the concerns of revenue sharing are realized, there's a good chance it will.”
In return for accepting the deal, the Cayugas would be able to pursue a gaming compact with New York to seek Class III gaming, or Las Vegas-style casino, most likely in the Catskills, and designate 10,000 acres of land in Cayuga and Seneca counties as restricted fee land.
Laudadio said he recommended the proposal be accepted because: the Cayuga's 64,000-acre reservation and land claim area would be disestablished by the U.S. Congress; Class II gaming, or electronic bingo halls, and Class III gaming would not be allowed without county approval; the Nation can designate no more than 10,000 acres of open-market property purchases as restricted fee, sovereign land and restricted fee lands must be assembled into three groupings and comprise no more than 20 percent of any municipality; counties would be held harmless against the erosion of its tax base by receiving $12.8 million - $7.74 million would go to Cayuga County and $5.1 million to Seneca County - no matter if the Cayugas have any restricted fee land or not; up to $2.46 million more would be paid based on the amount of land the tribe designated as restricted fee land.
The town of Seneca Falls has 7,536 acres and the village of Seneca Falls has 2,888 acres. Around 12 percent of the village of Union Springs is already owned by the Cayugas.
A Wall Street firm estimated a hypothetical Cayuga casino could have a $492 million slot drop of which the two counties would each receive .5 percent, as well as an additional $3 million not based on the slot drop. Two-thirds would go to Cayuga County and one-third to Seneca County. Localities that have the Cayugas' restricted fee land within their borders would receive a share of the casino revenue directly from the state - .25 percent of the annual slot drop, or up to $1.23 million.
Upstate Citizens for Equality members held signs reading “no separate nation” and “equality for all.” Many of the signs placed on bleachers close to the door were left untouched.
“People at least are questioning something that is being crammed down our throats, something we fought 20 years to win,” said Richard Tallcot, chair of the Cayuga-Seneca UCE chapter.
Gary Wheeler, a member of the Cayuga Nation's council in favor of the settlement, attended the meeting to hear local residents' perspective.But he said he was not authorized to give comment about his reaction to the meeting.
Staff writer Amaris Elliott-Engel can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 282 or at amaris.elliot-engel@lee.net
Anti-Indian sovereignty groups' lawsuit dismissed
On Friday, U.S. District Court Judge David Hurd dismissed a lawsuit brought by anti-Indian sovereignty groups, including the Citizen Equal Rights Alliance and Cayuga County resident Richard Tallcot against five officials from the U.S. Department of Interior and the department's Bureau of Indian Affairs over pending land-in-trust applications filed by five tribes with New York ties.
The decision said the plaintiffs have failed to establish the court's jurisdiction over the trust applications because the applications are still pending and not yet ready to judicial review.
The lawsuit argued that the U.S. Constitution prohibits the federal government from creating federal Indian land by taking Indian land-into-trust because the state of New York, “retains its preemptive rights to all lands within its exterior boundaries” as an original colony that predates the creation other United States.
Tribes with land-in-trust applications in New York say the U.S. Supreme Court told them to follow the land-in-trust process in the city of Sherrill v. the Oneida Indian Nation case.
The Citizens' Say
There are 10 comment(s)
just a citizen soldier wrote on Jun 9, 2007 10:21 PM:
County Resident wrote on Jun 8, 2007 9:41 AM:
ANativeOfAmerica wrote on Jun 8, 2007 9:19 AM:
a voice of reason wrote on Jun 8, 2007 8:55 AM:
joe wrote on Jun 8, 2007 8:44 AM:
JOKE? wrote on Jun 8, 2007 8:39 AM:
pentangelli wrote on Jun 7, 2007 10:11 PM:
upstate citizen for justice wrote on Jun 7, 2007 5:51 PM:
a patriot wrote on Jun 7, 2007 4:36 PM:
arnold gratton wrote on Jun 7, 2007 4:12 PM: