AUBURN, N.Y. (AP) — U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer said Tuesday that federal officials must do a more detailed study on how the local economy would be affected if 129 acres of upstate New York land are put into trust for the Cayuga Indian Nation.
At a press conference with business leaders and local elected officials from Cayuga and Seneca counties, Schumer criticized a preliminary assessment made by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, which found there would be little or no negative impact.
"They showed no understanding of what's going on," Schumer said. "The whole system is out of whack. The only good news about this statement is that it is the draft. We have to make them go back to the drawing board, which is where they should go.
"They're not dealing with reality," Schumer said. "To say there would be no effect defies the imagination."
"They Could Cherrypick ... Properties"
Schumer said the BIA did not take into account the full economic toll of putting the land into trust, where it would be exempt from state and local laws and taxes. He also said no consideration was given to several pending lawsuits.
"You cannot, in a densely populated county, take various parts of the land and say they're under a totally different jurisdiction, totally different laws," Schumer said.
A primary concern is fear the tribe could develop some sort of gaming enterprise that would allow it to buy even more land. The Oneida Indian Nation operates Turning Stone Casino and Resort in nearby Oneida County, and it has made hundreds of millions of dollars in profits since opening in the 1990s.
"They could cherrypick whatever properties they wanted, pay exorbitant prices for them, and then take them off the tax rolls," said David Dresser, chairman of the Indian affairs committee of Seneca County. "It's absurd, it is biased, and I want to tell you the impact is huge."
Environment Effects also Questioned
A call seeking comment from Dan French, the lawyer for Cayuga Indian Nation who is handling the tribe's application to put the land into trust, was not immediately returned.
Schumer noted that the study also did not address how the environment, particularly Cayuga Lake, would be protected without local, county, or state regulation. Trust lands are governed by federal law.
The land is in Cayuga and Seneca counties about 50 miles west of Syracuse. It includes two convenience stores with gas stations operated by the Cayugas.
The federal government holds 66 million acres in trust for Indian tribes, mostly in western states.