Oneida Nation fights to save land claim from dismissal

Wednesday, March 7, 2007  

The Oneida Nation of New York is fighting to save its 250,000-acre land claim.

The tribe filed suit in 1974. After two trips to the U.S. Supreme Court, the state and two counties appeared to be on the hook for taking the land without Congressional consent.

Then came a Supreme Court ruling in another Oneida case. The justices, by an 8-1 vote, said the tribe couldn't assert sovereignty over its ancestral territory without going through the land-into-trust process.

The March 2005 ruling was then used by the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals to dismiss the 64,000-acre Cayuga land claim. The 2nd Circuit said the Cayuga tribes waited too long.

The state of New York and Madison and Oneida counties are now hoping a judge will do the same to the Oneida Nation. A hearing is scheduled for April 20 to consider a motion to dismiss the case.

Get the Story:
Filing: Oneidas can't change argument (The Syracuse Post-Standard 3/7)

Draft Environmental Impact Statement:
Oneida Nation of New York Conveyance of Lands Into Trust (November 2006)

Relevant Links:
Oneida Nation Trust - http://www.oneidanationtrust.com
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

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

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