N.Y. Indians Lose Round in Land Dispute

A lawsuit in which the Oneida Indians sought to regain nearly 6 million acres of land in 12 central New York counties was dismissed Friday.

Lawyers for the Indians, who began their legal drive to retake the land nearly a decade ago, said they plan to appeal the decision by U.S. District Court Judge Neal McCurn.

The Oneidas had charged that 200 years ago the state illegally took the 60-mile wide strip of land from the St. Lawrence River to Pennsylvania. The Oneidas argued the state’s purchase of the land in 1785 and 1788 was invalid under the Proclamation of 1783 and the Treaty of Fort Stanwix in 1784, two treaties of the federal government with the Six Nations Iroquois Confederacy.

The Oneidas claimed the state did not get required congressional approval of the land deals.

But in a 60-page decision, McCurn ruled Congress did not have the authority or intent of preventing states from buying Indian land within their own boundaries.

Arlinda Locklear, a lawyer with the Native American Rights Fund who is representing the Oneidas, said the decision is “disappointing” and said the group will appeal to the U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City.

Lawyer Allan van Gestel of Boston, who represents the counties, called the decision “significant” but said, “This isn’t the end by any means. It’s something that will take a long, long time to resolve.”