Home > News > Headlines

printer friendly version
Appeals court refuses to rehear Cayuga land claim
Friday, September 9, 2005

A federal appeals court dealt two Cayuga tribes another blow on Thursday, refusing to give them another chance to prove ownership of 64,000 acres in New York.

The Cayuga Nation of New York and the Seneca-Cayuga Tribe of Oklahoma had asked a full panel of the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider their land claim. The tribes said the court, in 2-1 decision on June 28, went too far in dismissing the decades-old case.

But the court rejected the tribes' request, clearing the way for a possible appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. In a story published today in The Syracuse Post-Standard, leaders of the two tribes said they would keep fighting, a sentiment recently voiced by another tribal official.

"We find that decision wrong and insulting and we intend to fight on in courts and do everything we can to have that decision overturned," LeRoy Howard, the Seneca-Cayuga Tribe's former chief, said at a House hearing on July 15.

It was the Supreme Court that set the stage for the dismissal of the Cayuga case. On March 29, the court issued its decision in Sherrill v. Oneida Nation, a ruling that has had wide impacts on land claims in New York.

By an 8-1 vote, the court held that the Oneida Nation couldn't "unilaterally" assert sovereignty over its 250,000-acre land claim area. The majority said the passage of time between the loss of the land and the tribe's reacquisition of it would "disrupt" the settled expectations of non-Indian communities.

Relying heavily on the "disruptive" theme, the 2nd Circuit said the Cayuga tribes waited too long to make their case. The lawsuit was filed in 1980, although tribal leaders long complained about the theft of their land.

In the 2-1 decision, the 2nd Circuit acknowledged that the land was taken from the tribes illegally. But the court nonetheless concluded that the Sherrill decision "dramatically altered the legal landscape" of tribal claims.

"Under the Sherrill formulation, this type of possessory land claim -- seeking possession of a large swath of central New York State and the ejectment of tens of thousands of landowners -- is indisputably disruptive," Judge Jose Cabranes wrote.

But a third judge dissented, giving hope to the tribes that an en banc panel of the court would reconsider the case. In other circuits, split decisions often get a rehearing.

The Bush administration, through the Department of Justice and the Bureau of Indian Affairs, has said it continues to support the land claim. Government attorneys had also asked the 2nd Circuit to rehear the case.

Government support, however, couldn't convince the Supreme Court in the Oneida case. Although the U.S. wasn't a party, the justices asked the government to file a brief stating its views.

The brief backed the Oneida Nation and urged the high court not to overturn the 2nd Circuit's 2-1 decision in the tribe's favor. The justices took on the case anyway, ultimately ruling against the Oneidas, who have since been hit with millions of dollars in property tax bills for land they own in two counties. The tribe is fighting the matter in court.

The Cayuga Nation and the Seneca-Cayuga Tribe have been confronted with challenges as well. Local officials say they have a right to enforce their laws on properties that the tribes reacquired.

The tribes also lost their settlement with the state of New York. Outgoing Gov. George Pataki (R) had previously agreed to end the lawsuit by giving each tribe a casino in the Catskills. The deal was put on hold after the Sherrill decision and might not be revived.

Meanwhile, the Oneida and Cayuga tribes have submitted land-into-trust applications to the BIA. It could take years before the agency makes a decision. The Seneca-Cayuga Tribe, however, recently paid a $70,000 property tax bill on 229 acres it owns in New York.

Relevant Links:
Cayuga Nation - http://tuscaroras.com/cayuganation
Seneca-Cayuga Tribe - http://www.eighttribes.org/seneca-cayuga

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

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

Related Stories:
Cayuga tribes ask 2nd Circuit to rehear land claim (08/23)
Seneca-Cayuga Tribe pays $70K property tax bill (8/19)
Seneca-Cayuga Tribe to pay tax bill in New York (08/05)
Seneca-Cayuga Tribe holds second election for chief (8/2)
Tribes confident on land claims despite court rulings (07/15)
Appeals court kills Cayuga land claim after 25 years (6/29)
Pataki land claim bill leaves out out-of-state tribes (06/10)
Supreme Court ruling impacts New York land claims (04/19)
Cayuga tribes confident on land claim appeal (04/12)
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)

Copyright © 2000-2005 Indianz.Com