Oneida Indian Nation reacquisition and trust applications

What happened

The Oneida Indian Nation of New York has been buying back land in central New York that was once part of its reservation. In City of Sherrill v. Oneida Indian Nation (decided March 29, 2005), the Supreme Court set out the history. A 1788 treaty with New York left the Oneidas a reservation of about 300,000 acres, which the United States acknowledged in the 1794 Treaty of Canandaigua. New York kept buying reservation land, and by 1920 the Oneidas in New York held only 32 acres.

In 1997 and 1998 the Nation bought parcels in the city of Sherrill on the open market, land last held by the Oneidas in 1805. It then refused to pay property taxes on them. The Court held that, given the long passage of time and the state's long exercise of authority, the Tribe cannot unilaterally revive its ancient sovereignty over the parcels; the Oneidas cannot regain governmental power through open-market purchases.

Trust status is the other route. In May 2013, according to Indianz.com, an agreement between the Nation and New York ended litigation over a pending trust application and capped total acquisitions at 25,000 acres. A February 17, 2023 Interior fact sheet says the Assistant Secretary made a final determination to acquire approximately 270 acres in 16 parcels in Madison and Oneida counties into trust, land the Nation holds in fee and uses for gaming and other purposes. The fact sheet says no opposition was received.

Good to know. The 270 acres is one trust decision, not the Nation's total holdings. Under the 2013 agreement total trust acquisitions are capped at 25,000 acres.

Summarized with AI assistance from 4 sources and checked against their words; not yet reviewed by historians or by the nations. Report an error