'Big Chief Pataki' editorial takes hit from Mohawks

By Steve Israel Times Herald-Record sisrael@...
http://www.recordonline.com/archive/2002/03/05/sicascon.htm

IS THE WALL STREET JOURNAL RACIST? Check out what the newspaper wrote in its
Friday editorial, which blasted Gov. Pataki for allowing six Indian casinos in
New York. It calls the governor "Big Chief Pataki." It says Pataki "traded
beads" so the casinos would hire union workers. What's more, those casinos would
actually be run by "the same white guys behind the curtain." Finally, the
newspaper, owned by the parent company of the Times Herald-Record, Dow Jones,
talks about "Mr. Pataki's pow-wows with the Mohawk and with the Oneida Indian
Nation ..." No wonder the Mohawk spokeswoman is hopping mad. "We have witnessed
the condoning of racism, whether by Donald Trump [who paid for a slew of
anti-Mohawks ads] or The Wall Street Journal," says Rowena General. She's right.
Stereotyping any group of people is wrong. Shame on you Wall Street Journal.

GOT AN ARMORED CAR IN YOUR GARAGE? Last week, CASINO CONFIDENTIAL reported that
the folks who will run the casino at Kutsher's are looking for a local company
to make swizzle sticks. Hey, thousands of thirsty gamblers will need millions of
drinks. Park Place Entertainment is also looking for an armored car service.
Seems like a little money might flow in and out of the casino. Like billions per
year.

NEW YORK, NEW...WISCONSIN? First, the governor's lawyer sticks it to two
Wisconsin-based tribes who want to build Catskill casinos, the Stockbridge-
Munsee Band of Mohicans and the Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin. The lawyer
says out-of-state tribes won't win federal approval for a casino. Next, three
New York tribes ask Pataki not to settle land claims with those Wisconsin
tribes. Two of the three, the Mohawks and the Oneidas of New York, want to build
Catskill casinos. They know land claims must be settled before casino deals can
be cut. Just one thing, says the Bureau of Indian Affairs. "They (the
Stockbridge-Munsee and Wisconsin Oneidas) were in the state in the first place,"
says a BIA official. "The state took their land. That's why they have land
claims. And the federal government said those claims are valid."

THE BILLION DOLLAR QUESTION: Ron Stevens, who works in the health club at
Kutsher's, has one question for CASINO CONFIDENTIAL: "What are the odds of
getting casinos?" I'm not an oddsmaker, but it's a good bet. Sooner rather than
later. The main obstacle has always been state approval. The post-Sept. 11 bill
that OK'd six Indian casinos took care of that. Now there's too much juice
behind the casinos for gambling not to happen. Park Place spent more than
$400,000 last year in donations to New York politicians. Last week, the
Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohicans, who want to build a casino in Bridgeville,
spent the week in Washington. So did Park Place and the Mohawks. Visits to Sens.
Schumer and Clinton and Rep. Gilman and Hinchey were on the agenda. You can bet
the topic wasn't the trade deficit.
...............

ino Confidential runs every Tuesday. To reach reporter Steve Israel, call him at
794-6711 or e-mail him at sisrael@....

[If you got here from frontpage Native News Online, click here to return:
http://216.97.43.231/ ]
COMMENTS?
http://nativenewsonline.org/Guestbook/guestbook.cgi
Reprinted under the Fair Use http://nativenewsonline.org/fairuse.htm
<<<<<>>>>>
Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit)
http://nativenewsonline.org/
Native News Online
a Service of Barefoot Connection

FREE LEONARD PELTIER!! "YOU ~ARE~ THE MESSAGE"