| Seneca Nation of Indians
Onondawaga
|
||
|---|---|---|
| Capital | Irving, New York Jimerson Town, New York (rotating) |
|
| Largest city | Salamanca, NY | |
| Official language(s) | Seneca language English (national) (national) |
|
| Government | Republic | |
| - | President | Robert Odawi Porter |
| Independence | ||
| Population | ||
| - | 2005 estimate | 7,800 |
| Currency | United States dollar | |
| Time zone | EST | |
The Seneca Nation of New York, also known as the Seneca Nation of Indians (Salamanca) is a federally recognized tribe of Seneca people in New York.[1] The tribe has two headquarters: one in Irving, New York on the Cattaraugus Reservation, and the other in Jimerson Town on the Allegany Indian Reservation.[2]
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The tribe was established in 1848 by a Constitutional Convention of Seneca people residing on the Allegany and Cattaragus Territories in present-day New York. The Seneca Nation of Indians Constitution established a tripartite governing structure based on general elections of 16 Councilors, three Executives (President, Treasurer, Clerk), and Court justices (Surrogates and Peacemakers). These elections are held every two years, concurrent with Election Day in the rest of the United States. The leadership rotates between the two reservations each elections, and no officer can serve consecutive terms because of this.[3]
The government is primarily under one-party rule, with the Seneca Party having complete control over the political process. The Seneca Party has cemented their place through bribing people for votes and busing voters in from out of state during elections, both of which are implicitly condoned.[4] Despite the one-party rule, there are numerous factions and disputes within the Seneca Party, tensions that have been exacerbated since the election of attorney Robert Odawi Porter as President; supporters of Porter have been at odds with supporters of the John family, an old-line, politically powerful family in Seneca circles. In November 2011, the John family led a vote to strip Porter of most of his powers and give the title of chief executive officer to Michael "Spike" John, a vote that the Seneca clerk (believed to be a Porter ally) invalidated under conflict of interest statutes. The de facto impeachment move came after what John supporters said was the politically motivated charges against Susan Abrams, a John ally.[4] Spike John is the cousin of Maurice "Moe" John, who served as Seneca president from 2006 to 2008 and ran unsuccessfully for Seneca President against Porter in 2010.[4]
The tribe owns and operates the Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino, located in Buffalo, New York.[5] They also own Seneca Gaming and Entertainment in Irving; Seneca Allegany Casino in Salamanca; Seneca Nation Bingo, Allegany in Salamanca; and Seneca Niagara Casino in Niagara Falls.[2] Through a tribal-owned holding company, the tribe owns a telecommunications firm, Seneca Telecommunications, and a radio station, WGWE. The tribe also owns its own small chain of smoke shops and gas stations under the "Seneca One Stop" brand; the vast majority of smoke shops on Seneca reservations, however, are independently owned. The refusal of Seneca businesses to pay New York state excise taxes, and the resulting price advantage the Senecas have over non-Senecas as a result, has been a source of controversy for several decades.