Two more tribes drop claims in exchange for casinos

Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2004 | 9:16 a.m.

MONTICELLO, N.Y. -- Gov. George E. Pataki announced two agreements on Tuesday that seek to settle centuries-old land claims by two Indian tribes in exchange for permission to develop casinos in the Catskill Mountains.

The deals were brokered with the Oneida Tribe of Wisconsin and the Stockbridge-Munsee Community, Band of Mohican Indians, also of Wisconsin. Both tribes trace their ancestry to New York.

The agreements came less than a month after Pataki announced similar arrangements with two other tribes, the Cayuga Indian Nation of New York and the Seneca-Cayuga Indians of Oklahoma, which are also seeking to operate casinos in the Catskills. A fifth land claim settlement, which could pave the way for another casino operated by the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe, is still subject to a tribal referendum.

But the vision of five shimmering Vegas-style casinos rising out of the Catskills could still be years away -- or may never happen. For the settlements to move forward, the state Legislature would have to pass a bill increasing the allowed number of casinos above three, the number currently permitted by law. The deals also require the approval of the Legislature and Congress and must clear assorted local regulatory hurdles.