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Senecas concerned about early relationship with Cuomo |
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Written by Administrator
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Thursday, 06 January 2011 |
Senecas concerned about early relationship with Cuomo
By Tom Precious
News Albany Bureau
January 5, 2011, 7:33 PM
ALBANY — Seneca Nation leaders say they are concerned there has been no outreach by the new Cuomo administration to the tribe at a time of strained relations between the state and Native Americans.
"I'm certainly hoping we see an interest in dialogue," Seneca President Robert Odawi Porter said.
Porter, who was at the state Capitol today to attend Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's State of the State address, was invited not by Cuomo's office but by legislative leaders.
"It's of concern that [Cuomo] really hasn't reached out to the Seneca Nation," added J.C. Seneca, co-chairman of the Seneca Tribal Council, who also attended the speech.
Porter noted that Gov. Mario M. Cuomo, the governor's father, invited Indian leaders to his first inaugural in 1983, a move repeated four years ago by former Gov. Eliot L. Spitzer.
New York's Native American tribes are in engaged in a dispute with the state over former Gov. David A. Paterson's bid to end tax-free cigarette sales by Indian retailers. Cuomo has backed the collection effort, but has yet to detail how his administration would enforce the law. Seneca leaders say the collection effort violates treaties that are centuries old and Indian sovereignty.
Seneca, who conceded state and Native American relations "are at an all-time low," said he is hopeful Cuomo seeks to engage the Seneca Nation in negotiations instead of pushing ahead with collection efforts. The tribe is also in dispute with the state over more than $200 million in casino revenue-sharing payments.
"We want respect, not conflict," Porter said.
"People of Western New York get it that our futures are tied together, and unfortunately Western New York has been treated as a colony by Albany and many downstate legislators," Porter added.
In a written statement, Porter said he was "encouraged" by Cuomo's State of the State message.
"If the governor is serious about entering the 21st century in the state's attitude toward indigenous people, we welcome it," he said.
http://www.buffalonews.com/city/capital-connection/albany/article303228.ece |
