Oneida Indian Nation
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The Oneida Indian Nation is the Oneida tribe that resides in New York and currently owns a number of businesses and own tribal land in Verona, NY, Oneida, NY, and Canastota, NY.
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[edit] Businesses
In the early 1990s, the Oneida tribe originally opened a bingo house and one of its more active members, Ray Halbritter, opened a tax free gas station across the street, known as SavOn (not to be confused with a gas station chain & retail that exists in the western side of the US). The lack of New York State tax made the gas station popular among the community and eventually SavOn was bought out by the Oneida Indian Nation and expanded into multiple locations within the area.
The most profitable business is the Turning Stone Resort & Casino which has been expanding continuously since its inception. However, the tribal-state compact between the Oneida Indian Nation and the State of New York which authorized its operation has been declared unconstitutional and so far this ruling has been upheld on appeal. Further, Turning Stone is near, but not on Indian land by the Federal definition as required by the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (see Sherrill v. Oneida Indian Nation of New York). The Oneida Indian Nation has applied to have this land taken into trust and taken other legal steps to try to preserve Class III gaming at Turning Stone.
The Oneida Indian Nation has also purchased a marina on the south eastern shore of Oneida Lake and many plots of land in the area.
The Oneida Indian Nation is the largest employer of the area with approximately 5,000 jobs total.
Disputes have arisn as of 2007 pertaining to the economic disadvantage of having the Class III gaming outside of Indian lands to remain in operation. The multiplier effect has failed due to the casino profits being untaxed and revenues not being invested into the community. The 5,000 jobs provided does not compensate for this and similarities have been drawn between the casino and a Wal-Mart store.
[edit] The Oneida Land Claim
The Oneida Indian Nation of New York, Oneida Nation of Wisconsin, and the Oneida Nation of the Thames commenced actions to reclaim land that allegedly was taken from them without the approval of the United States in 1970 and 1974 in the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York. In 1998 the United States intervened in the lawsuits on behalf of the plaintiffs in the claim in order for the claim to proceed against New York State in light of its assertion of its immunity from suit under the Eleventh Amendment to the United States Constitution[1].
[edit] Criticism
The Oneida Indian Nation has both internal and external opposition. Internally, members of the Wolf Clan in particular protest Halbritter's assumption of power and dissoving of the traditional Oneida government [2]. External opposition comes from groups like the Upstate Citizens for Equality, a group which opposes Haudenosaunee land claims in upstate New York as well as the tax free basis that the tribe's enterprises can operate under. Land owned by the Oneida Indian Nation was generally thought to be tax free until the 2005 United States Supreme Court opinion City of Sherrill v. Oneida Indian Nation.
Also because of previous promises given by the State of New York to allow Native American owned business in to sell goods tax free, has caused an unfair price advantage with their gas stations and has lead to all but a few local gas stations from being bought out. In 2004 the Oneida tribe made an agreement to charge an Oneida tax on their gas, giving other gas stations a more fair advantage with non Native American owned gas stations in the area.
The Oneida Indian Nation has asserted that it made up for this lack of land tax by donating to local schools in amounts that exceed the taxes that the county would normally receive from the land plots, although in recent years the amount of donations have shrunk if not outright stopped. Stockbridge Valley school has several Oneida Indian children, and yet the nation refuses to give them any money because of the views of one teacher.[3]
