Seneca leader tells governor to brush up on state history
In latest salvo over cigarette taxes, Snyder tells Paterson to develop respect, understanding
ALBANY — Tensions between Gov. David A. Paterson and Seneca Nation President Barry Snyder Sr., are rising, with the Seneca leader telling the governor Thursday he needs to brush up on his history lessons and stop lecturing Indian leaders.
A day after Paterson said the state needs to be compensated for the “privileges and benefits” the Senecas enjoy from being located in the state, Snyder said in a statement that there “seems to be no limit to the ignorance of the state’s leaders about the historic relationship between the Seneca people and New York’s governments going back centuries.”
The governor again said Wednesday that the state has a legal right to collect taxes on cigarettes that Indian retailers sell to non-Indians.
He said he was thinking about reaching out to Seneca leaders, who said Tuesday that plans were under way to begin collecting tolls on the Thruway section that crosses Seneca land in Irving.
Snyder said he was mobilizing an emergency response team of military veterans to protect Seneca land and wants the federal government to send in the military to protect its sovereign territory.
“The Seneca Nation remains open to talks with the governor; however, the last time we met, the governor was not interested in give and take, but lectured us. When we met with him last month, we invited him to visit our territories. While we have not had a response to that invitation, we remain open to meeting,” Snyder said.
But before any meeting is held, Snyder said, Paterson needs to review his state and American history.
“The Seneca Nation has no obligation whatsoever to New York governments that fail to live up to their signed solemn agreements, that take our land without just compensation, that try to destroy the economy we’ve rebuilt despite their predatory actions and that used armed riot police against our people because they exercised their right to dissent on our own land,” a defiant Snyder said.
Snyder added: “Before there was a New York State, there was a Seneca Nation of Indians. For there to be any hope for future relations, this governor needs to understand that simple fact, grasp the troubled history of our relationship and look beyond the moment, as we do.
“When he develops more respect for our nation and territorial sovereignty and steps up to his responsibility to redress the state’s failed legacy, our potential discussions will be far more trusting, fruitful and productive.”
Paterson recently signed a measure that would begin efforts next month to end tax-free cigarette sales on reservations. But a judge recently put the state’s move on temporary hold.
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