FREQUENTLY ASKED
QUESTIONS
(last updated 04/26/00)
As you know, the negotiations to resolve the long-standing Oneida land claim broke down earlier this month. The breakdown has left many people wondering what will happen next with the land claim and has given rise to other controversies, such as the cancellation of the deputization agreements and questioning the legality of dredging at Marion Manor Marina.
Here are the answers to some frequently asked questions about these developments.
Q: Is the land claim issue definitely going to court now?
A: It appears so. While county leaders and the Nation’s government have said they want negotiations to resume, there has been no movement toward scheduling further talks. All parties are supposed to submit status reports and other materials to U.S. District Court Judge Neal McCurn tomorrow, April 27.
Q: What is the Nation submitting to the judge?
A: We have filed two important documents in an effort to protect private property owners in court. The first is a stipulation agreement that removes the possibilities of damages, rent or eviction being sought against private property owners. In essence, the Nation will give up its claims against private property owners as long as the State and Madison and Oneida Counties promise not to use this agreement against us.
In addition, we have asked Judge McCurn to separate the defendants and let the trial against the State of New York proceed first in an effort to receive full relief from them. If Judge McCurn agrees to separate the defendants, private property owners will not be included as defendants at this time.
The best protection for private property owners comes from the stipulation agreement. It bars the Nation from pursuing relief from the landowners – no matter what happens in the litigation with the State and the Counties. But in order for this stipulation to be legally binding, the State and Counties must sign it.
Q: What happens if the State refuses to sign the stipulation?
A: If the State refuses to join the lawsuit on its own, the Nation must rely on the federal government to intervene in court. Under the 11th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, state governments cannot be sued in federal court unless – among other things – they agree to be sued.
Q: I thought Gov. Pataki asked the Justice Department to withdraw from the lawsuit. What happens if it does withdraw?
A: If the Justice Department pulls out of the lawsuit and the State refuses to participate as a defendant, the Counties and private property owners would remain as the only possible defendants in the land claim lawsuit. That means the Counties and private property owners would be liable for any damages.
Q: What does cancellation of the deputization agreements mean?
A: The deputization agreements allowed the Nation’s police officers to arrest anyone who broke state laws on Nation-owned land. Now that the agreements have been canceled, county sheriff departments and local police must officially arrest lawbreakers who are detained by Nation police.
Q: Does this mean the Nation’s police department is no longer active?
A: No. The Nation police are still empowered by the Nation’s public safety ordinance, and they still are certified by the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs to enforce laws on Nation land. The Nation police will continue to be the first responders to calls on Nation lands, and employees should continue to call Nation police headquarters with any problems or questions.
Q: Does the Nation need a special federal permit to dredge at Marion Manor Marina?
A: No. The work we did at the marina – clearing out silt and debris that has accumulated over the past 15 years – was regular maintenance of an existing basin. The work is legal for any marina to undertake without special permits under the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Nationwide Permit No. 35, which includes "excavation and removal of accumulated sediment… provided the dredged material is disposed of at an upland site and proper siltation controls are used." The Oneida Nation – which consulted with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers before it began work on the marina –exceeded the environmental protections defined in Nationwide Permit No. 35’s specifications, so no additional permits were required.
Q. Why is the Oneida Nation going back to court on its land claim? Hasn't there already been a ruling?
A. In 1985 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that New York State illegally took from the Oneida Indian Nation about 270,000 acres of land in Central New York. In an effort to settle that claim, the Nation entered into negotiations with the State of New York. The Nation pursued the settlement route exclusively for more than a decade to no avail; now it is time to take other steps to seek a speedy resolution of its claim. The only way the Nation can protect the interests of future generations is to move forward with its land claim.
Q. Who is filing the amended complaint, and who is being sued?
A. The Oneida Nation, along with the Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin and the Oneida of the Thames from Ontario, Canada, have filed an amended complaint to expand the land claim case to include New York State. The U.S. Justice Department is filing a nearly identical amended complaint in support of the Nation. Named as defendants are New York State, Oneida and Madison counties and selected large landowners including the New York State Thruway Authority , Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation and Oneida Valley National Bank as well as a class of defendants who own property within most of the land claim boundary. New York State is the primary defendant as it perpetrated the original wrong, engaging in illegal treaties to deprive Oneidas of their homeland.
Q. Why is the United States a party to the lawsuit and what is its position?
The United States has an interest in seeing that all of its citizens are treated fairly and that federal law is respected. The United States has a special duty to Indian nations who for many years were not given the same rights as other citizens. The United States has determined that the Nation was not treated fairly by New York State and that the state's actions in taking Nation lands were illegal. The United States is filing an amended complaint in support of the Oneidas that is almost identical to the one filed by the Nation.
Q. Why are homeowners being sued as a class?
A. The Oneidas in New York, Wisconsin and Canada, and the Justice Department, have no choice but to contest the illegal acquisition by New York of all of its lands. Unfortunately, the State of New York no longer occupies much of the land. The Oneidas cannot assert their rights to the land claim area without including current occupants of the property. Failure to do so would jeopardize the Oneidas' rights to the claim.
Q. What do the Oneidas want?
A. The Oneidas continue to seek a fair and equitable resolution to this land claim. The Nation wants to assure that generations of Nation Members to come have a secure and prosperous future. Such a future is rooted in recovery of the Nation's sacred ancestral lands -- lands reserved to the Nation through numerous treaties with the U.S. government.
Q. Does this mean the Oneidas want to take land away from individual property owners?
A. No. The Nation has always said it does not want individuals to lose their land and homes. The Oneida People know what it means to be dispossessed of their homeland, and do not want the same to happen to others. Nevertheless, the Nation has an obligation to its people to secure the future for the seventh generation of Oneidas to come. The claim endorsed by the Supreme Court is a claim for possession, and individual landowners possess the vast majority of the land in the claim area. The Oneidas have no choice but to assert their claim against the current occupants of the land.
Q. On what is the land claim based?
A. The Oneida Nation existed as a sovereign nation with recognized borders long before the United States came into existence. The treaties on which the Nation's land claim is based memorialized the legal right of the Nation to own, possess, govern and control its lands. The Oneidas sided with the colonists in the American Revolution, becoming the new nation's first allies. During the brutal winter of 1777, Oneidas even carried bushels of corn hundreds of miles to General Washington's starving troops at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. In recognition of their support, the U.S. and Oneidas signed several treaties, including the Treaty of Canandaigua in 1794, which confirmed that approximately 270,000 acres of land were reserved to the Oneidas
to be their property; and that the U.S. would never claim the same, nor disturb them. The Oneidas signed this treaty as a victor and ally of the U.S.
Q. Then how was the land "lost"?
A. Between 1795 and 1846, 26 illegal treaties imposed by New York State deprived the Oneida Nation of most of its homeland. Each of these 26 treaties were in violation of the federal Trade and Act, passed by Congress in 1790, which invalidated purchases of Indian lands that were concluded without valid federal consent. None were approved by the President or the Senate and are therefore invalid. The Non Act and the Treaty of Canandaigua remain in effect today.
Q. How did the Nation seek to recover the land that was lost?
A. For decades, individual Oneidas asked for federal and state help in obtaining the return of their lands. New York refused to help and, indeed, ruled that Oneida Members could not even bring a suit in state court. In 1970, the Nation filed a suit in federal court to establish the illegality of New York's actions. Two lower federal courts ruled that they could not even address the merits of the Nation's claims. In 1974, the Supreme Court reversed those decisions and required the lower courts to hear the Oneidas' claim. In 1985, the Supreme Court again ruled in favor of the Nation and held that the Nation has a valid claim to about 270,000 acres in Central New York.
Q. Why is the Nation buying land, and what plans does it have for it?
A. The Nation continues to re-acquire its ancestral lands when pieces are offered
by willing sellers on the open market. (In fact, the Nation receives numerous
calls each day from people who want the Nation to buy their land.) Land is needed
to ensure the Nation's economic self-sufficiency and the well-being of future
generations. Having land means having a place on which to re-develop a community
that was lost two centuries ago.
|
