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St. Regis Mohawk Tribe hopes for settlement to land claim

Thursday, May 23, 2013

The St. Regis Mohawk Tribe is hoping to negotiate a land claim settlement with New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D).

The tribe has a longstanding claim to 12,000 acres. A lawsuit is pending in federal court but the tribe and Cuomo, as part of a global agreement that primarily addresses gaming issues, plan to discuss a settlement.

"We have 400 people that live in the town of Massena. We have people that live in Fort Covington and Bombay. And we recognize the fact that we don’t have a large enough land base. And what we told the Governor is that we plan to expand and diversify our economy, and the only way to do that is to have a larger land base," Chief Ron LaFrance told North Country Public Radio.

The Department of Justice is backing the tribe's claim to the land. But a settlement could spare the tribe a potentially negative outcome in the courts.

The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals hasn't been kind to New York tribes, having dismissed three land claims in recent years.

Get the Story:
Mohawk chiefs hope casino pact paves way for more land (North Country Public Radio 5/23)
State-tribe gambling deal helps counties (The Adirondack Daily Enterprise 5/22)