jdmann@cdp.uucp (David Yarrow) (10/07/89)
/* ---------- "Supreme Court Refuses Oneida Claim" ---------- */
/* Written 1am 10/7/89 by David Yarrow(jdmann) in gen.nativeam */
Source: Syr.Herald, Tuesday, Oct 3 by Kathy M. Bachman staff writer
ONEIDAS TO PURSUE CLAIMS
MADISION COUNTY, NY - Oneida Indians vowed Monday to continue pursuing
land claims in the state despite the U.S. Supreme Court's refusal to hear a
decade-long case involving 5.8 million acres.
"We would certainly have preferred to have won, but we didn't lose
anything," said Ray Halbritter, a spokesman for the oneidas in NYS. "We
retained our hunting and fishing rights on the land. Although we cannot
pursue this case any further, this is not the end of it for Oneida Indian
Nation."
Halbritter said he would keep up the fight for land through a lawsuit
claiming 250,000 acres in Madison and Oneida counties. That claim is not
the largest of five remaining Indian land claims in the state.
Monday's action upholds a U.S. Court of Appeals decision that rejected
the Oneida's claim to a 50 to 60 square miles swath through 12 counties
between Pennsylvania and Canada.
The lawsuit, filed in 1978 by Oneidas living in the U.S. and Canada,
challenged two treaties that conveyed the land to NYS in the 1780's.
As is their practice, the Supreme Court justices did not explain why they
refused to hear the case.
=============================================================
COMMENTARY: This case would have been the first time the U.S. Supreme
Court would rule on a legal issue in the narrow gap in history when the USA
was under the Articles of Confederation. That alone is enough of a legal
minefield for the Court to avoid a decision - and a precedent.
However, the real reason is in legal fact NY failed to extinguish Indian
title to any Iroquois land. This is because only a sovereign can extinguish
title of another sovereign; NY isn't a sovereign, and NY willfully refused
to ask the U.S. Congress to exercise its power. This is one can of dragons
neither federal nor state government want to be open for review.
There are several Oneida claims. The first, filed in 1970, was decided by
U.S. Supreme Court in 1975. The Court decided NY knowingly violated the
1790 Trade & Intercourse Act which required all agreements with Indian
tribes to be ratified by Congress. This law was passed specifically because
of NY's aggressive ambition to take Iroquois land.
The Court also ruled U.S. government failed to uphold its obligation
sworn in the 1776 George Washington Covenant Treaty and the 1784 Fort
Stanwix Treaty to protect the Iroquois against just such actions as NY's.
NYS fought the 1975 decision, and in 1984 the Court handed down a second
ruling which upheld the first, and further held that treaties were equal
to, and not under, the Constitution as the supreme law of the land. And
therefore the statute of limitations does not apply.
Since 1984 NYS stopped fighting this Oneida claim and has negociated a
settlement. However, the parties to negociations are complex: two counties,
NYS, USA, and several factions of Oneida government living in NY, Canada,
Wisconsin, and Oklahoma.
Oneidas went on to file other claims, including this one deferred by the
Court. Cayuga and Mohawk Nations have also filed claims. The legal issues
are varied and complex, and the history is likewise in each claim. The are
other claims which have not been filed yet; the most significant of these
is an Onondaga Nation claim.
There are many unusual and unique features to these Iroquois land claims
which make them highly significant to the future of US-Indian relations. For
example, Iroquois government served as a living model of democracy for the
USA Founding Fathers. And Iroquois nations have preserved their sovereignty
throughout the last 200 years.
****************
- prepared by David Yarrow, the turtle, for SOLSTICE magazine
***** SOLSTICE: Perspectives on Health and Environment, is published
bimonthly at 201 E. Main St Suite H, Charlottesville, VA 22901 804-979-4427
---
Patt Haring | United Nations | FAX: 212-787-1726
patth@sci.ccny.cuny.edu | Information | BBS: 201-795-0733
patth@ccnysci.BITNET | Transfer Exchange | (3/12/24/9600 Baud)
-=- Every child smiles in the same language. -=-