In a
press conference held today in Irving, NY, Seneca Nation President Barry E. Snyder Sr. unveiled Nation actions and decisions “in the face of New
York law that ignores sovereignty, attacks freedom of commerce and threatens
the public safety of the Nation, its people and the municipalities surrounding
its territories.”
In
response to what the Nation sees as unfair New York State practices, Snyder
announced “a series of actions designed to protect the Seneca people
from state incursions into their lives, while elevating the Nation’s response
level to New York State’s threatening decisions.”
Based
on the belief that the state will threaten the Seneca’s economy by imposing taxes on Seneca sales to tobacco wholesalers, the
Council has authorized Snyder to spend as much a $1 million “to retain
emergency response personnel to assist with medical care to Nation residents,
make sure that children can get to school, and that all residents can go about
their daily activities without interference.” No representative was
immediately available for comment as to what that interference may be.
The
Nation’s actions come in the wake of Gov. David A. Paterson’s Dec. 15, 2008
signing of a bill that would attempt to tax wholesalers who supply products to
the Nation’s $313 million retail sector, which supports the jobs of more than
1,000 families. By temporary order of State Supreme Court Justice Rose
Sconiers, that law cannot presently be enforced, and a hearing is scheduled for
January 27, 2009 to determine whether a permanent injunction should be issued.
In
addition, the Council “approved planning to devise a system for the Nation
to collect tolls on the New York State Thruway in Irving, authorized an action
filed in the Nation’s tribal courts for an advisory opinion to declare the
Thruway an illegal invasion of sovereign Nation territory and increase to $2
the current per-car toll the Nation charges the state on behalf of motorists
using it. In general, Senecas are
being encouraged to make provisions for stockpiling basic needs.”
President
Snyder said, “These decisions are not made in haste, nor are they an
overreaction. But given our history that the state twice tried to
interfere with our treaty rights to tax-free commerce, the only responsible
approach is to protect our people by preparing for the worst.”
The Nation’s
position regarding the Thruway stems from a Council vote on April 14, 2007 that
rescinded the 1954 agreement with the state for use of Nation land for its
highway. The Nation and the state have yet to discuss outstanding compensation
for past land use, but the state has refused to pay the $1 assessed on
motorists since May 12, 2007. The monthly bills to the state are in arrears by
a total of $20,247,557.
“The Council
and I believe that the state should not be allowed to continue to operate an
illegal business upon Nation lands – the state Thruway – at the same time that
it seeks to destroy a significant component of the Nation’s economy by further
invading our rights and lands,” President Snyder said.
He concluded
with, “Despite receiving notice that the 1954 agreement was cancelled, the
state has continued to illegally occupy the Nation’s lands and operate the
Thruway as an illegal, unlicensed business generating millions of dollars of
revenue for the state and contributing billions to the state’s overall
government.”