The Oneida Business Committee released the following statement to the media:
“It is ridiculous for Hobart to send that message to their residents focusing only on the Oneida Nation’s retail operations. Hobart should advise consumers to be cautious with all retail transactions, not just those at Oneida business locations. It is a very inflammatory message and is aimed at harming our business, not protecting the consumers. As a government, we take every opportunity protect our customers, we wonder what the intent of Hobart is in sending this out when we look back at their actions regarding the Oneida Applefest, is this another attempt to stop a positive business impact on this community?”
The information below was mailed to various Hobart residents from the Village of Hobart’s government officials. It is unfortunate the Village government is once again attempting to harm Oneida and our Businesses. Please be advised all Oneida Nation businesses are in compliance with regulations regarding credit and debit card transactions. You may remember the Jeremy Meyers case, an article was published in the Kalihwisaks and an update was provided to the General Tribal Council.
We agree consumers should always be mindful of the use and representation of their credit and debit cards, however, we would not issue a statement that targets one specific government in our area, as the Hobart government has once again done. It is very disconcerting to continually be attacked by our neighboring government officials. We will continue to encourage positive community relations among residents within our reservation boundaries and remain mindful their government representatives do not truly represent the full community.
The Hobart government has a history of challenging the sovereignty of the Oneida Nation. We are firm in our position that we are a sovereign government as recognized by our treaties. We will continue to work to create a community with a good mind, a good heart and a strong fire. When Hobart officials seek to create division and chaos within our community, we will stand firm on Tsi?niyukwalihot^, our ways, and encourage building a strong economy and safe community for everyone.
The following is the message officials at the Village of Hobart sent to people who are subscribed to the electronic newsletter:
The lawsuit explains the plaintiffs purchased items at two stores owned by the Tribe. They received receipts showing credit card expiration dates and more than the last five digits of the credit card number, which is prohibited by FACTA.
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, Judge William Griesbach, ruled that the Oneida Tribe was immune from the lawsuit. On September 8, 2016 a three-judge panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed the previous ruling, concluding the claims were barred under the doctrine of tribal sovereign immunity.
Because of this ruling we are informing residents to be cautious in disposing of purchase receipts from tribal locations.”
