Indian Gaming

The United South and Eastern Tribes say the Cayuga Nation has a right to engage in gaming on its ancestral land in New York.

At its annual meeting, USET passed a resolution that condemned Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) for including the Cayuga Nation's territory in an exclusivity deal for the Oneida Nation. The Cayugas are objecting to the arrangement in federal court.

“Our fellow Indian Nations stood with us in rejecting Governor Cuomo’s plan to take away our fundamental federal rights,” Clint Halftown, the Cayuga Nation's federally recognized representative, said in a press release. “The exclusivity zones called for in the Governor’s gaming proposal are an unprecedented attempt to give one Indian Nation – in this case, the Oneida – rights over another’s lands.”

The tribe submitted a land-into-trust application for properties within its ancestral territory. The Bureau of Indian Affairs published a final environmental impact statement in October 2010 but a final decision hasn't been made.

The tribe opened a Class II facility on one of the properties.

Get the Story:
United South and Eastern Tribes backs Cayuga Nation in opposing Oneida Nation's exclusive gaming zone (The Auburn Citizen 11/9)

Related Stories:
Cayuga Nation goes to court over Oneida Nation gaming deal (08/12)