A former official of the Seneca Nation is trying to force the Indian tribe to continue its legal battle with New York State over $540 million in disputed casino payments.
Susan Abrams, a longtime Seneca Nation activist and a former member of the Tribal Council, filed a lawsuit Friday in the tribe’s Peacemakers Court.
Abrams asked the court – which is run by the tribe and has authority within Seneca Nation territories – for a temporary restraining order stopping any payments under a 2002 agreement that allowed the Senecas to open casinos in Western New York.
The Senecas stopped making the payments in 2017, claiming they were illegal. On Jan. 12, Seneca President Matthew Pagels announced that he had reached an agreement with the state to resume the payments and negotiate a new casino agreement.
The agreement is “an illegal action,” Abrams alleged in a news release issued Friday, and she charged that Pagels has “let down” the Seneca people.
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A Seneca Nation spokesman declined to comment because the Seneca Nation had not seen the court filing.
In his Jan. 12 announcement, Pagels said the the Senecas have "vigorously raised” many legal issues during a four-year court battle against the state.
Rather than continue the legal fight, the Senecas will pursue their interests by negotiating a new casino compact with the state, Pagels said on Jan. 12.
Abrams said an estimated 300 Senecas attended two recent public meetings raising questions about the agreement announced by Pagels.
