A former Department of Justice official who helped develop the Bush administration's land-into-trust policy is now lobbying for the Oneida Nation of New York.
From 2001 through 2005, Thomas Sansonetti was the assistant attorney general of the Environment and Natural Resources Division at DOJ. He oversaw all Indian law litigation.
In that position, Sansonetti and the Interior Department instituted a requirement that tribes with land-into-trust applications go through a lengthy environmental review. The policy came about in a case affecting a Michigan tribe whose rights were later upheld by the federal courts.
The Oneida Nation is now in a similar position with its land-into-trust application for more than 17,000 acres. The Bureau of Indian Affairs last week released a final environmental impact statement that called for about 13,000 acres to be placed in trust.
Sansonetti works in the Cheyenne, Wyoming, office of the law firm of Holland & Hart [Bio].
Get the Story:Oneidas closer to putting real estate into trust (The Albany Times-Union 2/26)
Lawmakers seek meeting before trust decision (The Oneida Dispatch 2/26) 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) Relevant Documents:
Final EIS (March 2008) | Draft EIS (November 2006) 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] Related Stories:
Cason to follow through on Oneida land-into-trust (2/25)
BIA to rule on Oneida trust lands request (2/22)
Cason to brief counties on Oneida land-into-trust (2/22)
2nd Circuit hears Oneida Nation foreclosure case (11/07)
2nd Circuit to hear Oneida Nation foreclosure case (11/5)
Oneida Nation can't drop taxation lawsuits (8/14)
New York urged to collect taxes on Oneida Nation (8/3)
Wisconsin tribe opposes Oneida Nation trust land (06/21)
Land-into-trust next big move for Oneida Nation (6/15)
New York to appeal Oneida land claim decision (6/7)
Judge dismisses New York land-into-trust lawsuit (6/6)
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Editorial: Collaboration needed on Oneida land claim (5/30)
Oneida Nation said to owe $248M in taxes (5/25)
Door still open for Oneidas on land claim (5/22)
BIA to act on Oneida Nation land-into-trust (5/10)
DOJ seeks dismissal of New York land-into-trust suit (04/26)
Cason explains misgivings on land-into-trust (04/20)
Oneida Nation shifts lobbying to Washington (03/12)
Oneida Nation fights to save land claim from dismissal (3/7)
Halbritter attributes Oneida success to hard work (3/5)
Fire destroys Oneida Nation carpentry shop (3/2)
Oneida Nation officially ends tax dispute with city (2/28)
Oneida Nation builds in-house legal department (2/13)
Another hearing on Oneida Nation land-into-trust (2/7)
Oneida Nation refused county inspection of gas pumps (1/22)
BIA schedules another Oneida land-into-trust meeting (1/10)
