The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in the Cayuga land claim on Wednesday.

The lawyer for the Cayuga Nation of New York and the Seneca-Cayuga Tribe of Oklahoma asked for $1.7 billion for 63,000 acres of lost land. The tribes also want title to the land to negotiate leases or other agreements with current landowners.

A federal jury awarded $36.9 million to the tribes. A judge added $211 million in interest.

The Department of Justice supports the land claim. The state doesn't think it is valid.

Get the Story:
Cayuga land claim rulings challenged (The Syracuse Post-Standard 4/1)
Tribes: We're owed $1.7B (AP 4/1)

Related Stories:
Federal appeals court to hear Cayuga land claim (3/31)
NIGC accused of 'ducking' casino land issue in N.Y. (03/23)
Seneca-Cayuga Tribe seeks deal to end land claim (03/19)
Judge in N.Y. hears Seneca-Cayuga land dispute (03/12)
Seneca-Cayuga Tribe could fund arts center in N.Y. (2/26)
Arguments set for appeal of Cayuga land claim (2/25)
Seneca-Cayuga Tribe makes offer to Pataki (11/19)
Court orders Cayuga Nation to stop renovations (10/23)
Cayuga Nation proposes land claim, tax settlement (10/21)
Cayuga Nation buys another gas station (10/06)
Bill would terminate out-of-state sovereign rights (09/26)
Appeals expected in Seneca-Cayuga Tribe's land case (09/10)
Judge to decide fate of Seneca-Cayuga Tribe's land (9/9)
Cayuga tribes slowly reclaiming ancestral territory (09/02)
Okla. tribe says court decision bolsters case (07/24)
Cayuga Nation welcomes Indian Country decision (07/23)
Oneida Nation wins treaty lands case (7/22)