Leaders of the Cayuga Nation said a land claim deal with the state of New York is invalid.

Cayuga clan mothers and other traditionals said the person who signed the agreement, Clint Halftown, didn't have the authority to do so. Calling it "a nullity," they said they don't plan to follow the settlement.

Gov. George Pataki (R) and Halftown announced the settlement last month. The tribe would drop its claim for 64,000 acres and limit a monetary judgment in exchange for a casino in the Catskills and as much as 10,000 acres.

A similar deal, but without the land component, was reached with the Seneca-Cayuga Tribe of Oklahoma.

Get the Story:
Cayuga agreement challenged (The Syracuse Post-Standard 12/16)
Cayuga group queries land deal (The Albany Times-Union 12/16)
Cayuga tribal leaders say land claim agreement invalid (AP 12/15)
Officials wary of Pataki's land claim deal (The Utica Dispatch 12/16)

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