Trust

Oneida Nation asks BIA for all 17,000 acres in trust

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

The Oneida Nation of New York wants the Bureau of Indian Affairs to place all 17,370 acres of its properties in trust.

The tribe rejected the BIA's recommendation to place 13,086 acres in trust. A letter says jobs and revenues will be lost unless all 17,370 acres are in trust.

The parcels are located within the tribe's ancestral reservation. But the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the tribe must go through the land-into-trust process before asserting sovereignty on the land.

The comment period on a final environmental impact statement closed on Monday.

Get the Story:
Nation still wants full 17,000 acres (The Oneida DIspatch 3/25)

Relevant Documents:
Final EIS (March 2008) | Draft EIS (November 2006)

Federal Register Notice:
Notice of Availability of Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Transfer From Fee to Trust of Parcels Owned by the Oneida Indian Nation of New York in Oneida and Madison Counties, New York (February 22, 2008)

From the Indianz.Com Archive:
BIA official calls high court ruling 'quite depressing' (March 31, 2005)
Major defeat for Oneida Nation in Supreme Court case (March 30, 2005)

Relevant Links:
Oneida Nation Trust - http://www.oneidanationtrust.com
Oneida Nation, New York - http://www.oneida-nation.net
Indian Nation Fee-to-Trust Land Acquisition Applications in New York State - http://www.dec.ny.gov/public/888.html
Oneida Indian Nation's Land Into Trust Application, Madison County - http://www.madisoncounty.org/motf/OINTrustMain.html

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