Cason to follow through on Oneida land-into-trust

Monday, February 25, 2008  

County officials in upstate New York say the Bush administration will accept a recommendation to place 13,000 acres in trust for the Oneida Nation.

Officials from Madison and Oneida counties met with Jim Cason, the associate deputy secretary of the Interior Department, on Friday. They discussed a final environmental impact statement that recommended the land be placed in trust.

"He gave every indication that this was going to go through as it is," a county legislator told The Syracuse Post-Standard. "You couldn't get any other impression."

The tribe asked for over 17,000 acres in the two counties to be placed in trust. The Bureau of Indian Affairs says it focused on consolidating the tribe's land base.

Get the Story:
Oneida Ruling Faces A Test (The Syracuse Post-Standard 2/23)
BIA wants 13,086 acres put into trust (The Oneida Dispatch 2/23)
Oneidas may get land in federal trust (The Auburn Citizen 2/24)

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:
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)
Views: Oneida Nation, treaties and land claims (5/30)
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)
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Oneida Nation officially ends tax dispute with city (2/28)
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Another hearing on Oneida Nation land-into-trust (2/7)
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