Post by Okwes on Apr 2, 2007 19:20:36 GMT -5
Spitzer can heal Native relations
By DOUG GEORGE-KANENTIIO
First published: Sunday, January 21, 2007
Gov. Spitzer swept into office by pledging his administration would be defined by its ethics, fiscal responsibility and willingness to enact constructive changes in all areas of the state, ranging from health care reform to an emphasis on economic revitalization.
His inauguration speech was as charged with hope and determination, followed by a State of the State address that was equally powerful in its promise to shake up the way New York is governed.
We among the Haudenosaunee (Six Nations Iroquois) have long sought a decisive change in the passive manner in which we were treated by former Gov. George Pataki.
Pataki began his tenure by meeting with a delegation of Iroquois leaders at the Capitol, then followed that up with a commitment to forge a trade and commerce agreement that would have, in part, centralized the tobacco trade by setting up one wholesaler based on American Indian territory, created an Iroquois-controlled distribution network and established a joint monitoring system.
Also on the Iroquois agenda was the repeal of Public Law 282, passed by Congress, which gave New York criminal jurisdiction on Indian lands. We also sought a retreat from former Gov. Mario Cuomo's policy that evolved into offering lucrative casino gambling compacts in exchange for abandoning our land claims.
Many of us desired a revival of the Office of Indian Relations, an entity created by Cuomo but disbanded by Pataki in 1995. Cuomo's mistake was to place former state troopers in charge of Indian affairs; we urged the selection of a Native coordinator, one who was trusted by all sides, but this did not happen.
Once word got out that the Iroquois Confederacy was on the verge of a historic alliance with the state, our opponents responded by attacking the commerce agreement. They organized a series of protests that included blocking the Thruway while threatening to use even greater force if the deal went through. I was a member of the Iroquois negotiating team, which told Pataki's aides that these events were being orchestrated by Indian tobacco and casino interests who were fearful their activities would be qualified by a strong confederacy.
Pataki did fold in the face of confrontation, however, and spent the next few years without any coherent Indian policy. He was content to let the courts decide the most critical issues, which meant he was distrusted by the Iroquois and condemned by those state taxpayers who lived within our land-claims areas.
Gov. Spitzer can avoid Pataki's errors by adopting a common-sense approach to Indian relations. He can begin by reviving the Office of Indian Relations and staffing it with Native personnel who are trusted by the Iroquois Confederacy. He can meet directly with Native people at our capital of Onondaga to learn of our concerns instead of having selective information pressed upon him by highly paid lobbyists.
Spitzer should discard the casinos-for-land tactic and form a joint land resolution team composed of Iroquois and state officials to investigate the failures of the previous policies and come up with tangible ways to resolve our claims without having to resort to decades-long court battles.
By DOUG GEORGE-KANENTIIO
First published: Sunday, January 21, 2007
Gov. Spitzer swept into office by pledging his administration would be defined by its ethics, fiscal responsibility and willingness to enact constructive changes in all areas of the state, ranging from health care reform to an emphasis on economic revitalization.
His inauguration speech was as charged with hope and determination, followed by a State of the State address that was equally powerful in its promise to shake up the way New York is governed.
We among the Haudenosaunee (Six Nations Iroquois) have long sought a decisive change in the passive manner in which we were treated by former Gov. George Pataki.
Pataki began his tenure by meeting with a delegation of Iroquois leaders at the Capitol, then followed that up with a commitment to forge a trade and commerce agreement that would have, in part, centralized the tobacco trade by setting up one wholesaler based on American Indian territory, created an Iroquois-controlled distribution network and established a joint monitoring system.
Also on the Iroquois agenda was the repeal of Public Law 282, passed by Congress, which gave New York criminal jurisdiction on Indian lands. We also sought a retreat from former Gov. Mario Cuomo's policy that evolved into offering lucrative casino gambling compacts in exchange for abandoning our land claims.
Many of us desired a revival of the Office of Indian Relations, an entity created by Cuomo but disbanded by Pataki in 1995. Cuomo's mistake was to place former state troopers in charge of Indian affairs; we urged the selection of a Native coordinator, one who was trusted by all sides, but this did not happen.
Once word got out that the Iroquois Confederacy was on the verge of a historic alliance with the state, our opponents responded by attacking the commerce agreement. They organized a series of protests that included blocking the Thruway while threatening to use even greater force if the deal went through. I was a member of the Iroquois negotiating team, which told Pataki's aides that these events were being orchestrated by Indian tobacco and casino interests who were fearful their activities would be qualified by a strong confederacy.
Pataki did fold in the face of confrontation, however, and spent the next few years without any coherent Indian policy. He was content to let the courts decide the most critical issues, which meant he was distrusted by the Iroquois and condemned by those state taxpayers who lived within our land-claims areas.
Gov. Spitzer can avoid Pataki's errors by adopting a common-sense approach to Indian relations. He can begin by reviving the Office of Indian Relations and staffing it with Native personnel who are trusted by the Iroquois Confederacy. He can meet directly with Native people at our capital of Onondaga to learn of our concerns instead of having selective information pressed upon him by highly paid lobbyists.
Spitzer should discard the casinos-for-land tactic and form a joint land resolution team composed of Iroquois and state officials to investigate the failures of the previous policies and come up with tangible ways to resolve our claims without having to resort to decades-long court battles.