Oneida Nation to the Rescue Again

In the 1770s, the Oneida Indian Nation earned the lasting gratitude of George Washington, providing food, shelter and other help to his Colonial troops in their war against the British.

Now, more than two centuries later, the Oneidas are again coming to the rescue of their neighbors. This time they are bringing jobs and economic salvation.

When the Oneida Nation opened its stylish 285-room luxury hotel in September, it added 450 jobs to the local economy and made the nation the largest employer--public or private--in Madison and Oneida counties.

Just four years ago, before opening the state’s only legal casino, the Oneida Nation employed fewer than a dozen people.

The nation’s 2,850-person payroll now ranks among the largest in central New York, and nation representative Ray Halbritter believes it can grow to 10,000 within the next decade.

That news is celebrated by most public officials in the job-starved region, which in the 1990s has endured the closing of Griffiss Air Force Base (4,500 jobs) and the departure of major employers such as Lockheed Martin (1,000) and Chicago Pneumatic (550).

Oneida County Executive Ralph Eannace says the nation has been the largest single economic force for the region’s recovery and regrowth.

“The difference between the nation and other businesses is that we are not going any place like the other big companies or the military,” said Halbritter, leader of the 1,100-member tribe.

“This is our home,” he said. “We are not going to leave just because business looks better somewhere else.”

With the millions in profits from the recently expanded Turning Stone Casino, which is now drawing about 2.5 million visitors annually, the Oneidas have launched a number of new businesses.

They operate an RV park, two large gas stations, a cigarette shop and a textile printing factory and outlet store. Soon they will open a car wash and in the next three years they will build a convention-arena complex and a 27-hole golf facility.

The Oneidas, who do not disclose their finances, have prospered enough to rebuild their 32-acre reservation 30 miles east of Syracuse.

Gambling and business revenues have allowed the nation to start its own police force and court system, build houses, a health care facility, gymnasium and cultural center, and purchase more than 4,000 acres of ancestral lands. The nation also has established an educational scholarship program for its children, an aid program for its elderly and a health plan for all tribal members.

Every Oneida has a job if they want it and are qualified, but Native Americans make up less than 5% of the vast payroll, which approaches $2 million weekly. The bulk of the jobs have gone to local residents.

In addition, officials estimate that the nation’s 2,850 jobs have created an additional 2,688 support jobs in surrounding communities.

For instance, the nation employed a local engineering firm and local contractors to build the four-story hotel, and looked to local companies to help fill it. It purchased chairs, dressers and tables from Harden Furniture Co. in nearby McConnellsville, and Oneida Ltd. furnished the silverware.

Overall, those new 5,500 jobs have generated about $12 million in additional local taxes and helped hold the area’s unemployment at roughly 5% for the past three years. Visitors to the casino spend an estimated $13.5 million in the local economy.

Some have criticized the nation because its sovereignty means it doesn’t have to pay taxes and property assessments, and some of its land has remained on tax rolls.

Last week, the Oneida Nation tried to resolve matters by announcing that it would pay towns, villages and counties thousands of dollars that would more than make up for the lost property taxes--but only if the land is removed from the tax rolls.

Two beneficiaries have already agreed to the deal. Oneida County will receive $71,080 annually, and Verona, the town where the casino and hotel are located, will get $55,230 a year.

In addition, the nation has been generous with its aid to local municipalities. It paid for a new town hall in Verona and set up a program to aid local school districts where it owns land. Last summer, the Oneidas announced a $750,000 tourism promotion campaign.