The Cayuga Nation of New York is going to court on Wednesday to seek the return of tribal property and cash that were seized from two of its smokeshops.

The tribe says authorities in Cayuga County lacked jurisdiction to raid the smokeshops last Tuesday. “They are trying to apply a law that the state will not enforce, and there is a reason it's not being enforced,” attorney Dan French told The Auburn Citizen.

The smokeshops are located within the tribe's 64,000-acre ancestral reservation. But the county asserts jurisdiction because the properties are not in trust.

“Maybe there use to be a reservation a long time ago, or there was a claim that there had been a reservation, but that claim is gone. There is no reservation there anymore; they bought that land on the market," Cayuga County District Attorney Jon Budelmann told the paper.

Get the Story:
Cayuga Nation takes legal action after raid (The Auburn Citizen 12/1)

Some Opinions:
Guy Cosentino: Taking charge in absence of action (The Auburn Citizen 11/28)
Our View: State needs to get involved in tribal matters (The Auburn Citizen 11/28)

Related Stories:
County authorities raid Cayuga Nation smoke shops (11/26)