Some local officials in upstate New York are questioning the Bureau of Indian Affairs after officials stayed at the Oneida Nation's hotel for a recent hearing into the tribe's land-into-trust request.

The Syracuse Post-Standard said BIA officials stayed two nights and ate at one of the tribe's restaurants. But the agency paid its way, said a spokesperson.

"We pay for our services there; we got nothing free," spokesperson Nedra Darling told the paper. "We don't see it as a conflict. It wouldn't influence our decision."

The BIA is considering the tribe's request to have more than 17,000 acres in two counties placed in trust. The application was filed after the U.S. Supreme Court last March said the tribe couldn't assert sovereignty on its properties without going through the land-into-trust process.

Local officials and state politicians are opposing the request.

Get the Story:
BIA accused of conflict (The Syracuse Post-Standard 3/10)

Relevant Links:
Oneida Nation, New York - http://www.oneida-nation.net

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

Related Stories:
Pataki won't let employees on Oneida Nation lands (3/7)
Small crowd at Oneida Nation land-into-trust meeting (3/3)
Oneida Nation wants land claim settlement honored (2/16)
BIA to hold another Oneida Nation meeting in March (2/8)
Oneida Nation vows fight over trust land application (2/2)
Pataki latest to oppose Oneida Nation trust land bid (1/31)
BIA to decide on Oneida Nation trust lands in 2007 (1/30)
Stockbridge-Munsee Band asks to join Oneida case (01/18)
Oneida Nation fined for violating county law (12/01)
Oneida Nation sues to stop land foreclosures (11/22)
Judicial activism raised on Oneida Nation case (11/16)
Oneida Nation said to call off settlement talks (11/01)
Judge issues another ruling in favor of Oneida Nation (10/31)
Judge rules Oneida Nation land can't be foreclosed (10/28)
BIA extends comment period on Oneida trust lands (10/26)
Oneida Nation offers to pay back taxes to city (10/20)
Pombo to draft New York land claims settlement (10/11)
Oneida Nation agrees to taxes, local jurisdiction (10/6)
Judge extends Sherrill decision to Cayuga Nation (10/6)
Oneida Nation drops OSHA sovereignty challenge (9/29)
City seeks title to Oneida Nation properties (9/28)
BIA seeks comments on Oneida Nation trust lands (9/27)
Oneida Nation land claim mediator calls it quits (09/09)
Oneida Nation says county can't foreclose on land (9/8)
Son of land claim judge wins at Oneida Nation (08/23)
Oneida Nation files lawsuits to challenge taxes (8/17)
Oneida Nation offers to settle land claim for $250M (8/12)
Oneida Nation to make school tax payments (8/10)
Oneida Nation makes payment in property tax dispute (8/9)
Seneca-Cayuga Tribe to pay tax bill in New York (08/05)
Oneida Nation gets respite in property tax fight (07/06)
Oneida Nation in talks with Pataki over land claim (6/23)
Editorial: Now's the time to settle tribal land claims (7/5)
Cayuga tribes to challenge land claim decision (7/5)
Pataki scales back Catskills casino legislation (6/10)
BIA says Oneida Nation lands are in restricted status (6/3)
Oneida Nation to detail spending in tax fight (5/25)
Supreme Court won't rehear Oneida Nation case (5/24)
Oneida Nation open to land claim talks with Pataki (5/18)
Pataki presses Oneida Nation to settle land claim (5/16)
Column: Tribes just can't come and take 'our' land (5/11)
Pataki: No tribal trust lands without state approval (4/28)
New York Senate votes against trust land for tribes (4/20)
Pataki, county blast Oneida Nation's trust land bid (4/14)
Oneida Nation seeks trust land in wake of ruling (4/14)
Supreme Court decision derails Pataki settlements (4/11)
Seneca-Cayuga Tribe to pay taxes on acquired land (4/8)
Supreme Court called less sympathetic to Indians (4/7)
Fallout from Supreme Court ruling on Oneida Nation (4/6)
BIA official calls high court ruling 'quite depressing' (03/31)
Major defeat for Oneida Nation in Supreme Court case (3/30)
Pataki, city, foes pleased with Oneida Nation ruling (3/30)
Major defeat for Oneida Nation in Supreme Court case (3/29)
Oneida Nation ruling could impact land claims (01/13)
Passage of time at issue in Oneida Nation case (01/12)
Oneida Nation wants court to uphold promises (1/12)
Supreme Court rejects two Indian law cases (1/12)
Supreme Court to hear Oneida Nation land dispute (1/10)
New York municipalities pony up for court brief (12/14)
Hearing set for Oneida Nation treaty rights case (11/12)
Supreme Court takes action on Indian law cases (11/02)
Tribes file briefs in Oneida Nation land case (10/18)
Supreme Court Roundup: 2003-2004 Term (07/08)
Supreme Court to hear dispute over Oneida Nation land (06/29)
Oneida Nation sees support in Bush administration brief (06/08)
Appeal planned in Cayuga Nation land rights case (04/30)
Cayuga Nation land rights upheld by federal judge (4/26)
Cayuga Nation's plans for land worry some in village (04/07)
Report: Seneca-Cayuga Tribe has bigger plans in store (04/06)
NIGC accused of 'ducking' casino land issue in N.Y. (03/23)
Judge in N.Y. hears Seneca-Cayuga land dispute (03/12)
Supreme Court asks for DOJ brief in Oneida case (02/24)
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)