By: Hellen Zaboulani
New York’s Native American tribes were glad to see former Gov. Andrew Cuomo go. They had been at odds with the former governor over taxing their tobacco sales, and his efforts to seize a share of their gambling proceed. As reported by the NY Times, the tribal leaders were full of hope when in 2021 Gov. Kathy Hochul became the successor. Since then, however, the relationship between the tribes and the NY state government has only deteriorated.
The tribes had hoped that since Ms. Hochul was raised in western New York, close to the state’s largest reservation, she would make an amicable partner for them. As per the Times, those aspirations seem mostly lost following a series of actions taken by Ms. Hochul. In her own words, the governor “started playing hardball” with the Seneca Nation by freezing its bank accounts until it forked over in excess of $500 million in gambling revenues. These efforts were part of Hochul’s plan to finance a new stadium for the Buffalo Bills Football team, owned by billionaires Kim and Terry Pegula. The tribes truly resented this effort as they maintained that they didn’t owe the money, even though federal courts have ruled otherwise. Gov. Hochul also got on the tribes’ bad side when she rejected a bill that would have granted long-sought recognition to Long Island’s Montaukett tribe, though it had been declared extinct more than a century ago.
All this aside, the tribes were most angered when in late 2022, Ms. Hochul vetoed legislation which would have made it harder for developers to build on top of unmarked graves—including those belonging to Indigenous people’s ancestors. Throughout the United States, 46 states have laws to protect unmarked graves discovered on private property. Despite being considered a Blue progressive state, NY is one of the few exceptions. Hochul vetoed a bill, namely the Unmarked Burial Protection Act, which would have forced developers and builders to stop work upon discovering ancient graves and associated artifacts. Local authorities, medical examiners, state archaeologist, and possibly direct descendants of the corpses would be called in and a new burial site review committee would decide on the next steps.
Per the NY Times, critics say the governor’s veto stemmed from the sway of powerful business and real estate interests, who have collectively donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to Ms. Hochul’s campaigns. The developers didn’t want any new legislation which would delay construction, or add more bureaucracy. Reps for the governor have said that campaign donations had nothing to do with Hochul’s decision to veto the bill. The governor tried to explain her reasoning in a Dec. 30 letter, in which she said the bill would have left landowners “forced to accept decisions that impact their property.”
Still, the decision didn’t sit well with the tribe leaders. “Now we know clearly how she feels about the Native people in this state,” said Chief Harry Wallace, the leader of Long Island’s Unkechaug Nation and an outspoken proponent for unmarked graves protection law. “It turns out that she’s just as much in support of the property developers as the previous governor was.” Similarly, in January, the Seneca Nation, which is the state’s biggest tribe, adopted a resolution calling Ms. Hochul’s veto of the bill, part of an ongoing “pattern of disrespect” for NY’s Indigenous people.
