The Oneida Nation’s Ray Halbritter is fighting fire with fire in a letter calling out Mayor Bloomberg for saying Gov. David Paterson should get himself a “cowboy hat and a shotgun” to ratchet up the fight to collect taxes on cigarettes told on Indian land.

“(T)hese remarks incite dangerous fringe elements in an already volatile situation,” Halbritter, the Oneida Nation Representative and CEO of Nation Enterprises, wrote in a letter to the mayor.

Halbritter noted that early settlers often used “brute force” to take what they wanted from Native Americans, adding:

“For you to suggest that New York State follow that disturbing and immoral pattern today is more than simply disrespectful. It implies that, even in the 21st Century, the dominant society thinks there is nothing wrong with continuing to encroach upon the rights – through force, if necessary – of the first Americans.”

He goes on to note that Bloomberg is Jewish and that the Jewish community would be up in arms if a politician had urged the governor to “wear a red armband and hold a shotgun” to confront Jewish people “who defend their lands as we defend ours.”

That is, of course, a reference to the bands won by the Nazis during WWII.

The Seneca Nation has called for Bloomberg’s resignation over the remarks – or, at the very least, an apology. His office refused, saying: “There will not be an apology forthcoming. What the New York City mayor’s office is looking to do is to have the tribes follow the law.”

It’s interesting that this argument is playing out largely under the radar screen just as Bloomberg has emerged as an outspoken supporter of the mosque proposed for construction near Ground Zero, speaking passionately about the need for tolerance and religious freedom.

08-20-2010

Share|