In a letter to associate deputy Interior secretary Jim Cason on Thursday, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-New York) said the Oneida land claim is next to be dismissed.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to revive the Cayuga land claim. "[I]t seems likely that the Oneida Nation will soon also have their land claim dismissed," Schumer told Cason.

As a result, he said the Bureau of Indian Affairs should view the land-into-trust applications filed by both tribes with "maximum skepticism." "This week�s action by the Supreme Court sends a loud and clear message to the Bureau of Indian Affairs that they should take a dim view of the Oneida and Cayuga Land in Trust applications," he wrote.

The Supreme Court, in Sherril v. Oneida Nation, ruled that the Oneida Nation could not assert sovereignty over ancestral properties purchased on the open market without going through the land-into-trust process.

Get the Story:
Schumer: Reject land-trust requests (The Syracuse Post-Standard 5/19)
Schumer urges BIA to reject tribes' trust applications (AP 5/18)
Press Release: IN LIGHT OF SUPREME COURT ACTION, SCHUMER URGES FEDS TO REJECT CAYUGA AND ONEIDA LAND-INTO-TRUST APPLICATIONS (Sen. Schumer 5/18)

Cayuga Land Claim Decision:
Cayuga Nation v. New York (June 28, 2005)

Sherrill v. Oneida Nation Decision:
Syllabus | Opinion [Ginsburg] | Concurrence [Souter] | Dissent [Stevens]

Relevant Links:
Indian Nation Fee-to-Trust Land Acquisition Applications in New York State - http://www.dec.state.ny.us/website/ogc/lands.html
Oneida Nation, New York - http://www.oneida-nation.net

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