BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) – The president of the Seneca Nation has been stripped of his executive power, as the tribe's relations with New York state flounder over cigarette taxes and gambling casinos.

The Buffalo News reported Saturday that the Tribal Council of the Seneca Nation voted 10 to 6 to remove Robert Odawi Porter as chief executive officer. He remains the president.

Porter said the action “reflects political discontent about a few policy directions my administration has taken.”

His removal comes as tensions increase between the tribe and New York state over collecting of taxes for cigarettes sold on the reservation and the proliferation of slot machines at race tracks that compete with their casinos.

The Senecas have a compact with the state giving them gaming rights in western New York.

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Information from: The Buffalo News, http://www.buffalonews.com