Syracuse, NY -- A group of Oneida Nation members, and other Native Americans working at Oneida Nation Enterprises, left for New York City early this morning to join a protest against NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Twenty-five people will join other Native Americans from across the state at 3 p.m. Monday on the steps of City Hall, in lower Manhattan, to...
Syracuse, NY -- A group of Oneida Nation members, and other Native Americans working at Oneida Nation Enterprises, left for New York City early this morning to join a protest against NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Twenty-five people will join other Native Americans from across the state at 3 p.m. Monday on the steps of City Hall, in lower Manhattan, to protest comments Bloomberg made that they say are racially insensitive and offensive.
During an interview on Aug. 13, Bloomberg advised Gov. David Paterson to “get yourself a cowboy hat and a shotgun” to enforce the collection of cigarette taxes from tobacco products sold on Indian reservations.
The protesters demand an apology.
The National Congress of American Indians is also asking for an apology from the mayor for his insensitive statements.
“We understand that the State of New York and the Senecas are having a disagreement about tax policy, but legal disagreements between governments require responsible leadership and diplomacy and not reckless calls for violence,” said Jefferson Keel, President of NCAI, in a news release. “It is insulting that a tribal government defending its legal rights today is threatened with the brutalities of the past. I have asked Mayor Bloomberg to apologize for his choice of words and to return the discourse to the level of civility that we all deserve.”