URL: https://www.indianz.com/News/archives/001625.asp

Wednesday, September 24, 2003

The city of Sherrill, New York, will ask the Supreme Court to reverse a decision favoring the Oneida Nation, The Syracuse Post-Standard reports.

On July 21, the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the tribe's 1794 treaty is still in force. By a vote of 2-1, the court said the city could not impose property taxes or foreclose on the tribe's land because it is considered Indian Country.

The city will file a petition with the Supreme Court by mid-December. The court could decide not to accept it, letting the 2nd Circuit ruling stand.

If accepted, a decision could have an impact on other tribes who are reclaiming treaty land. The Cayuga Nation of New York and the Seneca-Cayuga Tribe of Oklahoma say their recently acquired lands are Indian Country.

Get the Story:
Sherrill seeks Supreme Court decision on taxes (The Syracuse Post-Standard 9/24)

Get the Decision:
Majority Opinion | Van Graafeiland Dissent

Lower Court Decision:
Oneida Nation v. Sherrill et al (June 4, 2001)

Relevant Links:
Oneida Nation - http://www.oneida-nation.net

Related Stories:
Oneida Nation wins treaty lands case (7/22)
Oneida Nation awaits ruling on tax status (04/29)
Taxes of Oneida land questioned (05/15)
Judge: Oneida land is Indian Country (6/7)
Oneida Nation disputes tax lawsuit (2/1)

All stories in the Indianz.Com Archive are available for publishing under a Creative Commons License: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)