Federal judge approves profit-sharing agreement and land claim settlement between Oneidas and NYS
By Matthew McKibben
Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the delivery of the Oneida Nation's initial payment of $11 million to the state as part of a profit sharing agreement between the tribe, the state and Madison and Oneida counties.
The $11 million payment is part of an all-encompassing deal between the Oneidas and the Cuomo administration that was approved last week by a federal judge settling decades of dispute and ending outstanding land claims as well as gaming and tobacco taxation and revenue sharing issues. The court's approval was the final step in putting the agreement into effect, as it was previously ratified by the Legislature, Madison County and Oneida County, the U.S. Department of Interior and the New York State Attorney General.
Prior to the agreement, New York state and the Oneida Nation had ongoing disputes dating back to 1795. The Oneidas, the state and the two counties had been in litigation since 1970 and there had been multiple failed attempts to resolve the disputes.
"Two hundred years of conflict is too long," Cuomo said. "The uncertainty and the acrimony was preventing economic development in Central New York, and we couldn't allow it to go on any longer."
http://www.legislativegazette.com/Articles-Top-Stories-c-2014-03-17-87198.113122-Federal-judge-approves-profitsharing-agreement-and-land-claim-settlement-between-Oneidas-and-New-York-state.html
