WEST SENECA, N.Y. — There are a lot of timely topics on the mind of the President of the Seneca Nation of Indians and our Dave McKinley had a chance to speak with Rickey L. Armstrong, Sr. about them Friday.
Following a colorful ceremony in West Seneca commemorating the Buffalo Creek Treaty of 1842, Armstrong- who has been in his position for six months, fielded a variety of questions on topics including the continued state of disrepair of the section of the New York State Thruway which runs through the Cattaraugus Territory, and the nation’s appeal to the U.S. Department of Interior regarding an arbitration panel’s ruling in favor of the State of New York in a long-simmering dispute over casino revenues.
Armstrong also discussed the possibility of legalized sports betting through Seneca casinos, and New York’s consideration of legalizing recreational marijuana, and the impact that might have and opportunities it might hold, for the Seneca Nation.