Mar 01, 2005 — Anti-gambling activists say the state Senate is excluding them from hearings on whether to build five new gambling casinos in the Catskills. Karen DeWitt reports.  Go to full article

Jan 04, 2005 — Among the top issues on Governor Pataki's agenda in 2005 will be forging ahead on building native-owned casinos in the Catskills. The Governor says the gaming resorts will help resolve decades-old tribal land claims in New York and generate revenue to plug the wide budget gap. A new statewide coalition, including a North Country group, wants to stop the spread of all kinds of gambling in New York. As David Sommerstein reports, the groups will start by lobbying on the legislature's first day back in session.  Go to full article

Dec 13, 2004 — In the past month, Governor Pataki has announced four deals with native tribes to resolve land claims and build casino resorts in the Catskills. Three of those agreements are with tribes from outside New York. A fifth casino deal could pop up if the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe approves a proposed land claim settlement. The deals push the number of casino plans beyond the number approved by the legislature. The Governor wants the legislature to accommodate the new plans. Martha Foley talks with David Sommerstein to sort it all out.  Go to full article

Oct 07, 2004 — The three tribal councils that govern the Akwesasne Mohawk reservation near Massena yesterday announced a proposed settlement with New York State to end the 22 year-old Mohawk land claim. The councils represent the American, Canadian, and traditional constituencies in Akwesasne.
Under the deal, the state and federal governments would pay the Mohawks $100 million to compensate for land in St. Lawrence and Franklin Counties taken illegally in the early 1800s. The tribe would get Long Sault and Croil Islands on the St. Lawrence River, a 215 acre parcel on Massena Point, and the right to buy more than 13,000 acres of land within the claim area from willing sellers. The Mohawks would also get low-cost power, free SUNY tuition, and aboriginal hunting and fishing rights. Non-native towns would share a $10 million fund to compensate for lost tax revenues.
The agreement will now go before the Mohawk community for a referendum on November 27th. In a prepared statement, a spokesman for Governor Pataki said he was "encouraged by the good faith efforts being made by all sides to resolve this long-standing, historic dispute."
The proposed settlement is different from a deal reached last year by a previous tribal council in several key ways. David Sommerstein spoke yesterday with Chief Jim Ransom of the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe.  Go to full article

Jun 24, 2004 — In last minute action yesterday, the Assembly ratified the St. Regis Mohawks' compact for its casino in Akwesasne near Massena. The compact was drawn up in 1993 between then-Governor Mario Cuomo and tribal officials, but it was nullified by a court of appeals ruling last year that said the full legislature needed to approve it. David Sommerstein reports.  Go to full article

Jun 14, 2004 — Last week Governor Pataki and the Cayuga Nation, based in the Finger Lakes region, announced an agreement in principle on land claims and a casino in the Catskills. New York would pay the Cayugas $247.9 million to settle its decades old land claim lawsuit. The money would come from the state's share of gaming revenues from a casino resort the Cayugas would build in the Catskills. The Cayugas could then use that money to buy up to 10,000 acres of land. The deal would also establish tax parity between Cayuga-owned gas and tobacco stores and non-native stores. The St. Regis Mohawk Tribe, near Massena, signed a similar pact just over a year ago. But a tribal referendum killed the deal. David Sommerstein spoke with Jon Parmenter, a history professor at Cornell University and an expert in Iroquois history and politics. He says there are important differences between the Mohawk and Cayuga situations.  Go to full article

Oct 06, 2003 — Across the country, some native tribes are buying land far from their reservations with the intent of opening gambling ventures there. New York's congressional delegation is proposing a bill that would curtail the practice, which lawmakers are calling "reservation shopping". The legislation stems from a dispute over a bingo hall the Seneca-Cayuga tribe of Oklahoma wants to build in the Finger Lakes area. David Sommerstein reports.  Go to full article

Aug 22, 2003 — State and St. Regis Mohawk tribal officials have agreed on steps toward paying non-native sub-contractors who helped build the Akwesasne Mohawk Casino in Hogansburg. But the casino's uncertain legal status is creating a catch-22 of sorts. David Sommerstein explains.  Go to full article

Jul 18, 2003 — The new chiefs of the St. Regis Mohawk Tribal Council took the reigns this month at a critical juncture in the tribe's history. They were elected in a tribal election in June. David Sommerstein talks with the chiefs about land claims, casinos, and their relationship with tribal members and other communities in the North Country.  Go to full article

Jul 11, 2003 — Members of all six nations of the Iroquois Confederacy will gather tomorrow for the first time in decades. They plan to criticize casino and land claim deals pending in New York and the tribal councils that negotiated them. David Sommerstein reports.  Go to full article