Representatives from the Oneida Indian Nation and Oneida County met face to face Wednesday. Because of the possibility of litigation, Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente says he can not talk about the specifics of the meeting. However, the County Executive did say the face to face was very positive.

The final decision to put land into federal trust, making it tax exempt, could come at any day now by the Department of the Interior. Once that decision comes, Oneida County leaders will have two choices: fight it in federal court, or accept it.

Hoping they will not have to do either, Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente and representatives from Madison County sat face to face with Indian Nation CEO Ray Halbritter. The Nation originally wanted 17,000 acres put into federal trust, but most recently the Bureau of Indian Affairs recommended 13,000 acres go into trust.

Obviously the county would like to see no land at all put into trust so at the meeting, they negotiated with the Nation hoping to strike a deal now and avoid going back to court.