wgrz.com | Buffalo, NY | Senecas Could Respond to Cigarette Tax with Thruway Sanctions
The link above has more .. with pics and feed back from readers.
The Seneca Nation of Indians says it is devising a plan to collect tolls on the New York State Thruway that runs through native land in Irving. This is a response to the state's plan to collect taxes on cigarettes sold to non-natives.
Seneca Nation President Barry E. Snyder Sr., supported by the Tribal Council, says he's announced a series of actions designed to protect the Seneca people from state incursions into their lives, while elevating the Nation's response level to New York State's threatening decisions.
The Council approved planning to devise a system for the Nation to collect tolls on the New York State Thruway in Irving; authorized an action filed in the Nation's tribal courts for an advisory opinion to declare the Thruway an illegal invasion of sovereign Nation territory; and increase to $2 the current per-car toll the Nation charges the state on behalf of motorists using it; and, Senecas are being encouraged to make provisions for stockpiling basic needs.
"These decisions are not made in haste, nor are they an overreaction," President Snyder said. "But given our history that the state twice tried to interfere with our treaty rights to tax-free commerce, the only responsible approach is to protect our people by preparing for the worst."
The Council also authorized President Snyder to invoke the provisions of the Canandaigua Treaty of 1794 and ask President Obama next week to provide federal troops in the face of the state's threatening laws and past history of aggression against the Seneca people.
The Nation's position regarding the Thruway stems from a Council vote on April 14, 2007 that rescinded the 1954 agreement with the state for use of Nation land for its highway. According to a news release from the Senecas, the Nation and the state have yet to discuss outstanding compensation for past land use, but the state has refused to pay the $1 assessed on motorists since May 12, 2007. The nation says monthly bills to the state are in arrears by a total of $20,247,557.
The nation's actions come in the wake of Governor David A. Paterson's December 15, 2008 signing of a bill that would attempt to tax wholesalers who supply products to the Nation's retail sector. By temporary order of State Supreme Court Justice Rose Sconiers, that law cannot presently be enforced, and a hearing is scheduled for January 27, 2009 to determine whether a permanent injunction should be issued.
WGRZ-TV/wgrz.com/Seneca Nation of Indians
The link above has more .. with pics and feed back from readers.
The Seneca Nation of Indians says it is devising a plan to collect tolls on the New York State Thruway that runs through native land in Irving. This is a response to the state's plan to collect taxes on cigarettes sold to non-natives.
Seneca Nation President Barry E. Snyder Sr., supported by the Tribal Council, says he's announced a series of actions designed to protect the Seneca people from state incursions into their lives, while elevating the Nation's response level to New York State's threatening decisions.
The Council approved planning to devise a system for the Nation to collect tolls on the New York State Thruway in Irving; authorized an action filed in the Nation's tribal courts for an advisory opinion to declare the Thruway an illegal invasion of sovereign Nation territory; and increase to $2 the current per-car toll the Nation charges the state on behalf of motorists using it; and, Senecas are being encouraged to make provisions for stockpiling basic needs.
"These decisions are not made in haste, nor are they an overreaction," President Snyder said. "But given our history that the state twice tried to interfere with our treaty rights to tax-free commerce, the only responsible approach is to protect our people by preparing for the worst."
The Council also authorized President Snyder to invoke the provisions of the Canandaigua Treaty of 1794 and ask President Obama next week to provide federal troops in the face of the state's threatening laws and past history of aggression against the Seneca people.
The Nation's position regarding the Thruway stems from a Council vote on April 14, 2007 that rescinded the 1954 agreement with the state for use of Nation land for its highway. According to a news release from the Senecas, the Nation and the state have yet to discuss outstanding compensation for past land use, but the state has refused to pay the $1 assessed on motorists since May 12, 2007. The nation says monthly bills to the state are in arrears by a total of $20,247,557.
The nation's actions come in the wake of Governor David A. Paterson's December 15, 2008 signing of a bill that would attempt to tax wholesalers who supply products to the Nation's retail sector. By temporary order of State Supreme Court Justice Rose Sconiers, that law cannot presently be enforced, and a hearing is scheduled for January 27, 2009 to determine whether a permanent injunction should be issued.
WGRZ-TV/wgrz.com/Seneca Nation of Indians
