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Oneida chief responds to casino decision

NEW YORK – As reported by the Syracuse Post Standard:"The Oneida Indian Nation should not have to pay - literally - for the mistakes of state officials, nation leader Ray Halbritter said Wednesday.

"The federal Department of Interior said last week it will reconsider its 1993 approval of the Oneidas' Turning Stone casino because state courts have ruled that the agreement allowing the casino to open was never approved by the state Legislature.

"In his first public remarks since the announcement, Halbritter said it's a state problem.

"…The Interior Department gave the Oneidas and Gov. Eliot Spitzer until April 30 to either start negotiating a new agreement or plead their cases about why the agreement should be upheld or overturned.

"State leaders and the citizens group that brought the lawsuit that led to the Interior Department announcement say they want the Oneidas to pay a share of proceeds from Turning Stone, just as the Senecas and Mohawks do with their casinos…"

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