News from around the Nations

AGREEMENT REACHED BETWEEN STATE, ONEIDA NATION, AND ONEIDA AND MADISON COUNTIES

A comprehensive agreement settling multiple, long-standing disputes between the State of New York, the Oneida Nation of Indians, Oneida County and Madison County was reached recently. The settlement paves the way to end years of litigation over property tax, land and reservation issues.

Ray Halbritter, Oneida Nation Representative, said, “Today, sovereign governments came together to begin a new partnership in shared prosperity. As a result of Governor Cuomo’s focus, integrity and willingness to negotiate a fair agreement we are able to begin this new chapter in our Nation’s history. This agreement is recognition that the state and counties see a value in supporting, strengthening and expanding what the Oneida Nation has built in the region over the last two decades and in building a new path for the future.”

New York State and the Oneida Nation have had ongoing disputes since 1795. The Nation, the State and the counties have been in litigation since 1970 and there have been failed attempts to resolve the disputes on and off for decades. The Nation has operated Turning Stone Casino and Resort in Verona since 1993. Litigation has clouded the validity of the facility, and today’s agreement will remove that cloud.

The agreement is detailed below:

Tribal Revenue Sharing with State and Local Governments and Gaming Exclusivity

Under the agreement, the Oneida Nation will receive exclusive rights to casino gaming in a ten county region of Central New York (Cayuga, Chenango, Cortland, Herkimer, Lewis, Madison, Oneida, Onondaga, Oswego, and Otsego counties). Vernon Downs will be authorized to continue its existing harness racing and video lottery facility. In exchange, the Nation will devote 25% of its net gaming revenue from its slot machines to the State of New York.  Based on current Oneida gaming revenues, that would be approximately $50 million annually to the state. From the state share there would be distributions as follows:

· Oneida County, as the host county, will receive 25% of the state’s payment (approximately $12.5 million based on current gaming revenues), and in addition will receive a $2.5 million annual payment from the state share to settle back property tax claims.

· Madison County will receive $3.5 million per year from the New York State share, and in addition will receive a one-time payment of $11 million from the Oneida Nation to settle past tax claims.  

Settling Land Claims

Under the settlement, the Oneida Nation will agree to a permanent cap of approximately 25,000 acres of land, which may be taken into trust by the Department of Interior as Nation land. Oneida and Madison County will drop their legal claims concerning land disputes against the Oneida Nation, currently pending in the courts, and the State of New York will withdraw its support for those legal claims. The Nation expressly waives its rights of sovereignty over any land over the cap amount.  

Ending Unfair Competition

The settlement requires the Oneida Nation to impose a Nation sales tax that equals or exceeds the State’s and counties’ sales, use and occupancy taxes. Under the agreement:

· The Nation sales tax would apply to all cigarettes, motor fuel, and all other sales by Indian retailers to non-Indians.

· The Nation must adhere to minimum pricing standards for cigarette products.

· The Nation must use sales tax revenues only for the same types of governmental programs to which the State and Counties devote their tax revenues.

 An Enforceable Agreement:    

Under the settlement, the Nation agrees to waive its sovereign immunity for enforcement of the agreement.  The settlement gives Federal courts authority over the agreement, including the enforcement of binding arbitration awards. The agreement requires the Nation to undergo an independent assessment to ensure compliance with all minimum tax and pricing requirements. The compliance assessment will be reported to the State.

Ratification:

Portions of the settlement will require New York State Legislative approval, approvals by Madison County and Oneida County, Department of Interior, the New York State Attorney General, as well as judicial approval. The agreement is not effective until these approvals are secured.    

NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN NATIONS OPEN DIALOGUE WITH UN MEMBER GOVERNMENTS IN NEW YORK

May 20, 2013 - New York City – As the twelfth session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) begins this week in New York, UN Member governments are being hosted by American Indian and Alaska Native nations at a reception at the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) in New York City. The purpose of the reception is to celebrate the beginning of the Permanent Forum and continue coordination on indigenous issues in the lead up to the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples in New York, set for September 2014.  

 “North American Indian nations and UN Member States’ governments are taking specific, tangible and symbolic actions to demonstrate their willingness to engage each other in nation-to-nation dialogue, as international governments to international governments,” said Jacqueline Pata, Executive Director of the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) which is supporting the event. 

UN Member governments’ missions accepting the invitation to attend the reception include: Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Republic of the Marshal Islands, Mexico, Panama, the Republic of Slovakia, Sweden, and the Netherlands.

 The co-hosting tribes are represented by Quinault President Fawn Sharp and Councilman Tyson Johnston from the Quinault Nation, Vice President Will Miklin representing the Tlingit & Haida Tribes, and Chairwoman Cheryl Andrews-Maltais representing the Wampanoag Tribe. The event is supported by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) in New York and the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI). Representatives from tribal nations will also be in attendance.

 The goal of the reception according to Quinault President Fawn Sharp is to, “enter into an informal dialogue on the benefits of social, economic, political and cultural exchanges between indigenous nations and member states’ governments of the United Nations.”

 The direct engagement of American Indian and Alaska Native nations’ governments and international states’ governments occurs at a time when North American Indian nations and indigenous peoples around the world are receiving high-level attention by the United Nations.  UN preparations are being made for indigenous peoples to offer their perspectives on the implementation of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, adopted by the UN in 2007, during a Global Meeting of Indigenous Peoples in Alta, Norway (June 2013). The decision made by indigenous delegations from seven regions of the world in Norway will be forwarded to the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples convening in September 2014 in New York at the UN Headquarters.