Federal government, Oneida Indian Nation sign historic land trust agreement
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on August 22, 2014
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Oneida Indian Nation and federal government completed their historic land trust agreement Thursday, ending almost a decade of legal disputes that strained relations between the Oneidas and their neighbors.
With the stroke of a pen in a private signing ceremony in the Oneida Nation Council House, the federal government transferred into trust about 13,000 acres in Madison and Oneida counties.
The Oneidas called it one of the largest transfers of land into trust in modern American history. The action, first approved by the federal government in 2008, means the land will be exempt permanently from state and local taxes and control.
The documents signed by Oneida Indian Nation representative Ray Halbritter and Johnna Blackhair, acting regional director of the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, affects some 330 parcels in the two counties, according to an Oneida spokesman.
"With the federal government ending disputes against our sovereignty and transferring 13,000 acres of our homeland into trust, the Oneida Indian Nation now has reclaimed more homeland than we have ever had since 1824," Halbritter said in remarks at the ceremony.
The Oneidas will be allowed to add an an additional 12,000 acres in Madison and Oneida to the federal trust as part of a deal approved in March by a federal judge.
Halbritter said the land transfer "represents the realization of generations of diligence and perseverance in the face of negligence, disrespect and, at times, outright hostility. Over many decades, we have worked to resuscitate our culture and rejuvenate our community."
He added, "While we appreciate the federal government agreeing to end disputes against our sovereignty, this is not an act of charity. This is not (an) achievement being given to us -- a proud and strong people have reclaimed our rights to be universally recognized as the sovereign stewards of this land. That achievement came after decades of work to rejuvenate and reestablish our community."
The land taken into the tax-free federal trust includes the profitable Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona. Under a separate deal with the state, the Oneidas are expected to pay about $50 million a year to the state in return for a casino monopoly in a 10-county area.
http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2014/08/federal_government_oneida_indian_nation_sign_historic_land_trust_agreement.html#comments
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