The Seneca Nation is waiting for more information from the federal government before proceeding with any payments to New York State. To date, no payments have been made to New York State.
Seneca Nation President Matthew Pagels said the funds will be withheld pending a federal review, as the result of a vote by the Seneca Nation’s Council on Saturday February 12th, 2022 at the Cattaraugus Territory.
“The Department of Interior and National Indian Gaming Commission have raised concerns about the legality of the continued revenue share payments under the Seneca Nation’s gaming Compact and commenced a review of the matter several months ago,” Pagels says. “To date, neither agency has issued an official report, nor taken any legal action. After receiving community feedback, the Nation’s Council approved a resolution to continue holding Compact revenue share payments until the federal review is complete. We hope such a report is finalized expeditiously so our Nation can move forward in charting the future of our gaming operations.”
The National Indian Gaming Commission opened an investigation into the matter in September 2021 citing “serious concerns” by Bryan Newland, Assistant Secretary of the Interior, it’s still an active inquiry.
Public meetings were held on the Allegany and Cattaraugus Territories to address community concerns.
“Mothers of the Seneca Nation”, a group of Seneca women from both Territories, organized in effort to halt the payment. ” Mothers of the Seneca Nation” maintain the position from 2016 that any payments made beyond the original 14-year term of the compact is a violation of federal law. The group urges the Nation to “continue to pursue and exhaust all federal remedies before submitting the disputed payments” and requests Nation executives to wait until the Department of Interior has reported the conclusion of their investigation.
“The Mothers of the Nation support the Council’s decision to require federal review of the legality of additional revenue sharing payments to New York State before any payments are made. The Mothers have exercised our collective voices, and the power of our people, to move our Nation in the right direction for the best benefit of the Seneca people, our children, and our future. We thank the Council for its decision today,” shares Odie Porter, co-founder of the Mothers group.
