Cayuga Nation Receives Federal Approval For Land In Trust

The Cayuga Tribe has been successful in its nearly two-decade-long effort to place some of the 1,200 acres it owns into a trust that is immune from federal income taxation.

The Nation’s application to transfer approximately 101 acres of land it owns in Cayuga County into federal trust was granted by the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs on Thursday. This brings to a close a process that started in April of 2005. The 101 acres are located west of Auburn, in the town of Ledyard and the village of Union Springs, both of which are located along Route 90. In addition to a gas station, a convenience shop, and a car wash, the land has a gambling establishment classified as Class III.

Approximately 13 acres in Seneca County that the Nation owns were initially listed in the trust application, but that was later removed at the BIA’s request in 2020 after Nation leaders destroyed a number of tribal buildings run by a group opposed to Clint Halftown and the six-member Cayuga Nation Council. At a news conference a few days following the demolitions, violence broke out.

Halftown was informed by Bryan Newland, Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, that the trust application had been approved.

“Despite many delays and constant political opposition, the Cayuga Nation never stopped fighting for approval of its trust application,” Halftown said in a news release. “This is a historic day for the Nation and its citizens. We applaud the BIA and Assistant Secretary Newland for seeing the merits of our application and having the courage to approve it after all this time.”

According to the release, the new land in trust only accounts for a small portion of the 1,200 acres that the Nation has purchased from willing sellers since 2005. Furthermore, the new land in trust only accounts for a much smaller portion of the tribe’s 64,015-acre reservation, of which 42,000 acres are located in Cayuga County.

According to Halftown, the BIA’s ruling upholds the Cayugas’ rights as stipulated in the 1794 Treaty of Canandaigua, “and sends a clear message to those who questioned the Nation’s sovereignty.”

“Even today, there are yard signs in Seneca and Cayuga counties that say ‘no reservation,’” Halftown said. “Even the naysayers who have cynically opposed our very existence now have no excuse for not recognizing our reservation and our sovereignty. We call upon local leaders to accept the BIA decision and stop wasting taxpayer dollars on frivolous lawsuits.”

According to Halftown, the Nation will try to put more of the fee-owned land it acquired from willing purchasers into trust. On the lands they applied to put into trust, the Cayugas were obligated to pay municipal property taxes, which they are no longer required following the approval.

“We will continue to reclaim our land and build a strong economic foundation for Cayuga citizens,” Halftown said. “Today’s BIA decision is good news for our citizens, but our work is far from finished.”

The approval was informed to David Gould, the chairman of the Cayuga County Legislature, by phone on Thursday.

“It has been many years since this process was started by the Nation. I will be meeting with county officials as soon as possible to talk about the decision by the BIA,” Gould said in reporting from the Finger Lakes Times. “There will be many aspects of his to go over and decide what impact this may have on Cayuga County.

“We knew this day was coming, so it’s no surprise. Now that it’s here and official, we will meet with the county attorney and other members of the legislature to discuss changes we will need to make. After that, I hope we can meet with Cayuga Nation officials and take it from there.”

In the Sullivan Campaign following the American Revolutionary War, the newly formed federal government expelled the Cayugas from their homelands. Through sales that the tribe later contended were unconstitutional, the Cayugas gave the state a large portion of their territory. This led to litigation in federal district court in 1980. The 1794 Treaty of Canandaigua set aside 64,015 acres in Cayuga and Seneca counties as a reservation, and the lawsuit demanded their restitution. A jury found in favor of the Cayugas and awarded them $36.5 million in trespass damages; nevertheless, their reservation property was not given back. The state Court of Appeals reversed the decision in 2005 after the state filed an appeal against it.

The United States Supreme Court did not hear The Nation’s appeal. Since 2005, the Nation has created some businesses and dwellings for its members on land it has purchased from willing sellers inside the 64,015 acres in the two counties. The town of Seneca Falls, near Road 89, contains all of the land in Seneca County.