A spokesperson for the governor said he wanted to "fundamentally" transform the state's relations with the tribes. "The tax collection issue is one of several issues that the governor would like to address as he moves forward to negotiate with all of the Indian nations in good faith," she added.
The Senecas have prepared for a blockade, Seneca President Barry Snyder said in a statement. The Native Americans are advising their members to stockpile basic necessities and setting aside $1 million to hire "emergency response personnel" to provide medical care, ensure children can get to school and protect members from state interference in daily activities.
"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," Snyder said. "Our concern as nation leaders justifies taking any and all prudent actions to protect and defend the nation's economy and the way of life of the Seneca people."
Next week, the tribe will ask President-elect Barack Obama to send "federal troops in the face of the state's threatening ways and past history of aggression," he said, in line with provisions of the 1794 Canandaigua Treaty.
Jim Calvin, president of the New York Association of Convenience Stores (NYACS), told CSP Daily News, "Blockade? Stockpile basic necessities? Hide the women and children? Who writes this stuff for them, some Hollywood screenwriter? They're resorting to Wag the Dog imagery to divert attention from the real issue here, which is the rule of law. You mean their businesses would lose their artificial price advantage and have to actually compete on a level playing field? Well, if ever there was a crisis justifying deployment of U.S. military personnel, this is clearly it!"
He added, "The U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously and unequivocally that New York State is entitled to collect taxes on gas and cigarettes purchased by non-Indians from Indian enterprises. New York State law prescribes a constitutionally sound method for collecting these taxes under which no state personnel would ever need to set foot on Indian soil and no Indian would pay one dime of taxes. Licensed, tax-collecting convenience stores whose businesses have been ravaged by an epidemic of cigarette and motor fuel tax evasion abetted by the Seneca Indian Nation commend Governor Paterson for his efforts to restore tax fairness."
Paterson is the third governor to try to stop Native American tribes from selling untaxed cigarettes to people who are not tribal members.
New York loses hundreds of millions of dollars a year by failing to collect the cigarette taxes, and anti-smokers, such as New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, want the law enforced. Convenience stores complain that they cannot compete with tribal stores.
The Senecas are a sovereign nation, the root of their claim to be immune from taxes. They say their shops generate $313 million a year and employ more than 1,000 families.
State Supreme Court Justice Rose Sconiers temporarily blocked the cigarette tax collections and set a hearing for January 27 on whether she should issue a permanent injunction.
The Native Americans are also planning to collect tolls on the New York Thruway in Irving, near Lake Erie, south of Buffalo, the statement said. New York owes the Senecas more than $20 million for failing to pay a $1 fee imposed on Thruway drivers since May 2007, Snyder said.
In April 2007, the 7,300-member tribe rescinded a 1954 agreement that allowed construction of the Thruway along 300 acres of Seneca territory in the Cattaraugus Reservation. The tribal council said the pact, which paid the Senecas $75,000, had not received the proper federal approvals. Since then, the Senecas have unsuccessfully been billing the state $1 per vehicle passing through its land on the Thruway. The tribe is doubling the fee in the wake of the newly passed law.
"The state and the Thruway Authority are trespassing on our lands and have not paid us for the right to do so," Snyder said. "The council and I believe that the state should not be allowed to continue to operate an illegal business-the New York State Thruway-upon nation lands at the same time that it seeks to destroy a significant component of the nation's economy."
The Senecas have taken aim at the Thruway before, including setting tire fires that shut down a 30-mile stretch in 1997 and led to clashes with state police. Snyder said the peaceful nation is not looking for a fight now but must act to protect itself and a retail sector that employs 1,000 people.
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