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Ridge not keen on Indians' gambling pursuit
Sunday, July 16, 2000 By Bill Heltzel, Post-Gazette Staff Writer
The Seneca Nation of Indians wants to develop gambling enterprises in Pennsylvania, but a spokesman for Gov. Ridge said the tribe has no standing to do so.
On June 19, Ridge received a letter from Duane "Jim" Ray, president of the Tribal Council, asking the state to negotiate a compact under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.
"The governor's position is that he doesn't believe in any expansion of gambling in Pennsylvania without the support of a majority of voters in a statewide referendum," said Deputy Press Secretary Kevin Shrivers. Furthermore, he said, there are no Indian reservations in Pennsylvania, and the U.S. Department of Interior, which oversees Indian affairs, does not recognize any Indian tribes here.
On Friday, Ray said that the Senecas "have no proposal with Pennsylvania" and declined to discuss the matter.
Indian interests in developing gambling sites in Pennsylvania is nothing new. The late county commissioner Tom Foerster said in 1993 that a lawyer for Indian tribes was studying whether they could lay claim to land in Allegheny County and develop a casino here. Nothing came of the inquiry.
For centuries, according to the Atlas of Pennsylvania, Southwestern Pennsylvania was occupied by the Monongahela Indians. After the arrival of European settlers, Iroquois, Delaware, Shawnee and Mingo established settlements in the region. In 1768 and 1784, William Penn's heirs acquired what is now Allegheny County in deals with the Senecas and five other tribes that made up the Six Nations confederacy.
Many Indian claims for land are based on a 1790 federal law that requires governmental approval of transfers of land owned by Indians. By then, however, nearly all of Pennsylvania had been purchased from the natives.
The Seneca Nation occupies Allegany Indian Reservation along the Allegheny River at Salamanca, N.Y.; Cattaraugus Indian Reservation at Irving, N.Y.; and Oil Springs Indian Reservation near Cuba, N.Y. The Senecas have a population of 6,700, according to their Internet Web site, and operate convenience stores, gas stations, smoke shops, diners and other enterprises.
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