(AP) -- Gov. David Paterson is expected to announce a land claim settlement with a Wisconsin tribe that could lead to a long-awaited Indian casino in the Catskills - though the deal faces federal scrutiny and likely legal challenges.
The expected deal would settle a long-running land claim in central New York's Madison County by the Stockbridge-Munsee Mohicans of Wisconsin in exchange for state support of a tribal casino within day-tripping distance of the lucrative New York City market.
Paterson planned separate announcements Monday in Madison County and the Catskills.
The deal must be considered by the federal Department of Interior. And it could face legal challenges from environmental groups or other Indian tribes.
QWhen news surfaced about the deal last week, the Oneida Indian Nation of New York said. "We, and presumably every other Indian nation, were stunned to learn that the state of New York would invite an out-of-state tribe into the state to conduct gaming, which means that all of the profits will be drained from New York and returned to their home in Wisconsin," said Mark Emery of the Oneida Indian Nation in Central New York.
"The idea that the state was settling a Stockbridge land claim is laughable, as the claim relates to Oneida Nation homelands and nobody honestly believes the Stockbridge ever had a legitimate claim here," Emery said.
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