This is in response to a letter written by John Antone of the Tuscarora Indian Reservation defending the Seneca legal preferences. Mr Antone calls writer Frank Parlato’s demand for “equality under law” for the average American in Niagara Falls with the wealthy Seneca as “borderline racist.”

Demanding equality is racist? Since when?

I wonder, if Mr Antone is even aware that  Seneca has legal rights superior to his own tribe- the Tuscarora.

The Seneca alone, not the Tuscarora, is permitted to open gambling casinos and tax-free hotels in Niagara Falls. However, in my mind, all men and women in the US are supposed to be equal. Mr. Antone, as an Indian, apparently believes he deserves legal preference.

But let me ask, why should one ethnic group deserve laws different than others while living in the US? Why should the Indians be privileged over other Americans? My ancestors came from Italy and faced degrading humiliation and constant prejudice -- but they became Americans. Upon becoming so, they became equal to every other American. The “Native American,” however live in a world apart, on and off their reservations. They have had complete tax-free advantages in the US for more than a century.

Are Americans supposed to atone to them for eternity? Still, what irks me is that many “Native Americans” call themselves American citizens only when it’s to their advantage. While using American roads, police protection, and other benefits and protections of our society, including the right to vote, they are equal to Americans. When it's time to pay for those privileges and services which they benefit from, they immediately cease to be an American. Now they are “Native American,”  members of a sovereign nation who deserve privileges and legal preferences over other Americans.

Mr. Antone writes, “We're not looking for reparations, handouts, or pity from the government, but upholding their end of countless treaties.”

But where, Mr Antone, in those treaties, does it say Indians get free land for gambling casinos? Which treaty mentions Senecas should own casinos while Americans may not? Where does it say  Albany can take land from the city of Niagara Falls to give it to a sovereign nation to make a gambling casino, when it is otherwise illegal to gamble in this state? We have a treaty in America too. It's called The Bill of Rights. It proclaims all Americans are equal and have the same rights as any other.

I would say this to all who are of Indian ancestry: if you believe you are an American, then become one. Stop looking for privileges over other Americans. On the other hand, if you are a foreigner to this nation -- the United States Of America, then I expect you should have less rights, not more than Americans.

But, it seems today some people are a Sovereign national when it suits them and an American citizen when that benefits them. That sounds a little like racism in reverse.

Angela Castiglione

Niagara Falls