Niagara County IDA Challenges Indian Preference, Receives Letter from BIA

Deputy Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Kevin Bearquiver responded to an inquiry from the Niagara County Industrial Development Agency (IDA) that challenged Indian Hiring Preference on the Hickory Stick Golf Course in Lewiston, New York.

The hiring procedures of the golf course are of concern to the IDA because of a property tax break it granted to the course, which is not built on Seneca-owned land. Bearquiver informed the IDA that the Seneca Nation of Indians isn’t in violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as the Act allows “any business or enterprise on or near an Indian Reservation” to practice Indian hiring preference.

Please click here to view Bearquiver’s letter to the IDA, via Turtle Talk.