Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, in blue jacket, visited the Shinnecock Nation on October 1, 2015, for the launch of the Tribal Solarthon. Photo from Shinnecock Nation / Facebook

The Shinnecock Nation of New York hasn't said whether it will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to hear its land claim.

The tribe sued the state of New York and other parties to assert ownership of about 3,600 acres on ancestral territory. A federal judge dismissed the claim in December 2006, holding that the tribe waited too long to bring the case.

The tribe asked the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals to hear the case but lost there as well. Now the only recourse is the Supreme Court, The Southampton Press reported.

The Supreme Court hasn't been receptive to tribal land claims ever since its March 2005 decision in Sherrill v. Oneida Indian Nation. Although that case did not address a land claim, the justices held that the passage of time works against tribes that are trying to assert their sovereignty.

The 2nd Circuit applied that outcome to a series of land claims in New York, with tribes losing every case. The Supreme Court has repeatedly refused to examine whether the 2nd Circuit's approach is correct.

Turtle Talk has posted briefs from the case, Shinnecock Indian Nation v. State of New York.

Get the Story:
Shinnecocks Have 60 Days To Decide Whether To Appeal Land Claim Ruling To U.S. Supreme Court (The Southampton Press 2/2)

2nd Circuit Decision:
Shinnecock Nation v. New York (October 27, 2015)

Related Stories:
Shinnecock Nation loses attempt to revive ancestral land claim (10/28)
Shinnecock Nation asserts ownership of shoreline by reservation (07/05)