He has also forged historic agreements with governors of New York and county leaders to end age-old disputes and make sure the Oneida enterprises are working to guarantee prosperity both for today’s community, and for future generations to come. In the process, he has forged historic pacts with the federal government to recognize the Oneidas for the first time in a century, and put more land under Oneida control than at any time since 1824. In the early years of the resurgence, Halbritter’s vision of major enterprises were at first derided by the local media as unrealistic – but through diligence, hard work and collaboration, he helped transform an empty cornfield into sustainable enterprises that have become an engine of jobs, shared prosperity and cultural resurgence for the Oneida people. With Halbritter at the helm, the Oneida Indian Nation became the first American Indian government in 1979 to offer gaming operations on sovereign land - one of many prescient moves that positioned the Oneida people to build what would become a world-class entertainment and gaming facility in the heart of the Northeast. Having deep roots in his Nation, Halbritter returned to Central New York to use his education to give back to his community, beginning the arduous process of building the first major enterprises on the Oneida homelands.

He toiled as an ironworker to make ends meet, eventually getting into Syracuse University and then Harvard Law School. The grandson of an Oneida leader and the son of a nurse, he lived in an impoverished community on the Oneida Indian Nation’s sacred homeland, and saw his family members die in an inferno neglected by local officials. Halbritter’s experience embodies the Oneida people’s larger resurgence over the last 30 years.

Ray Halbritter is the Representative of the Oneida Indian Nation and the Chief Executive Officer of Turning Stone Enterprises, leading the Oneida people to an economic and cultural renaissance that has been hailed as a national model of success.

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