|
|
 |
|
|
|
Profile: The Oneida Nation of New York
Indian Gaming
by Mark Van Norman, Esq.
The Oneida Nation of New York has a unique relationship with the United States as well as a unique vision of the relationship between Indian gaming and Native entrepreneurship. For the Oneida Nation, Indian gaming is about self-sufficiency and concern for the seventh generation. This focus on the future is not a new development. The Nation has always had a long-term vision, dating back to its support of America’s Revolutionary War. The Oneida Nation’s treaty with the United States, the Treaty of Canandaigua (1794), is the oldest international agreement still in effect. The treaty established the sovereign relationship between the federal government and the Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca nations. Prior to this treaty, however, the U.S. Government signed the Oneida Veterans Treaty, which is the only treaty in which the United States commemorates victory jointly with an Indian ally. According to Oneida Nation Historian Anthony Wonderley, “It may be the only treaty in which the U.S. says ‘thank you’ to an Indian nation.” In the treaty, the government acknowledged the hardships suffered by the Oneidas and expressed gratitude for their contributions to the Revolutionary war.
In spite of America’s debt to the Oneidas, centuries of failed Federal policies left the Nation with a 32-acre reservation and overwhelming poverty by 1980. Twenty years ago, the Nation started a small bingo game in a doublewide mobile home. It took several years for the revenues generated from that enterprise to become viable. By 1992, however, the Nation opened a health center and later built a cookhouse, a council house, a playground, and recreation facilities. These were first steps toward restoring their homeland, rebuilding their culture, and renewing hope for the future.
Today, the Nation continues to have a growing impact on its region through the Oneida Nation enterprises. Perhaps the most visible of these enterprises is the Turning Stone Casino Resort. However, the Nation has a diverse economic base that stresses self-sufficiency, cultural integrity, and a secure future. In just six years, the Nation has expanded beyond gaming. Turning Stone Casino Resort is the cornerstone of the gaming division but is now joined by a retail division, Oneida Textile Design, a chain of convenience stores, gas stations, and a media company that publishes Indian Country Today, a national newspaper that focuses on Native American issues.
In addition to its economic success, the Nation maintains a commitment to cultural and environmental preser-vation. Audubon International has recognized the Nation for their efforts in designing two golf courses that preserve and enhance the environment. Course designers were able to blend their 18-hole championship course into the natural surroundings, preserving natural rock out cropping and beautiful wetlands.
The Oneida Nation has also made a commitment to diversify their economy consistent with their commitment to tribal sovereignty and cultural integrity. The Nation is currently selling MayaGold Coffee in four of the Resort’s eight restaurants and in the rooms of the Hotel at the Turning Stone. According to Nation Representative Ray Halbritter, the coffee venture is “intended as a gesture of collaboration with Native peoples in other countries of the Americas. Investment in collaborative ventures with other Native people is a natural for us. We see this coffee import program as a step in helping revive the grand traditions where Native people prospered by common commerce.”
The Oneida Nation is planning to expand the Turning Stone Casino Resort by adding several more restaurants, twice as many hotel rooms, an indoor parking garage, and at least 200 more cashless gaming machines. Phase one will include a new golf clubhouse with a store, restaurant, 400-seat banquet room and an outdoor balcony overlooking the newly built PGA-level golf course. The casino will also gain 50,000 square feet of gaming space, a music lounge, and a terminal for the 100 bus tours that come through during the week. Future expansion will provide more convention center space and a water park.
By focusing on their successful blend of cultural, economic and environmental preservation, the Oneida Nation is succeeding in ways that are reminiscent of their historical success. That is, they continue to prosper as they remain true to themselves, to their culture and to their allies.
Back to Wisdom | More Mark van Norman Columns | Mail this Article to a Friend
|
|
|
|
|
© 1977 - 2004 Gambling Times Inc. & Green Room Media Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited.
|
|
