Aboriginal title in New York - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Aboriginal title in New York has been the source of many disputes regarding the status of aboriginal title in the United States

Aboriginal title in the United States

The United States was the first jurisdiction to acknowledge the common law doctrine of aboriginal title...

. The European purchase of lands from indigenous populations dates back to the legendary Dutch purchase of Manhattan in 1626, "the most famous land transaction of all." More than any other state, New York disregarded the Confederation Congress Proclamation of 1783

Confederation Congress Proclamation of 1783

Confederation Congress Proclamation of 1783 was a proclamation by the Congress of the Confederation dated September 22, 1783 prohibiting the extinguishment of aboriginal title in the United States without the consent of the federal government...

and the Nonintercourse Acts of 1790, 1793, 1796, 1799, 1802, and 1834, purchasing the majority of the state directly from the Iroquois

Iroquois

The Iroquois , also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are an association of several tribes of indigenous people of North America...

nations without federal involvement or ratification.

New York is the source of several landmark decision

Landmark decision

Landmark court decisions establish new precedents that establish a significant new legal principle or concept, or otherwise substantially change the interpretation of existing law...

s concerning aboriginal title

Aboriginal title

Aboriginal title is a common law doctrine that the land rights of indigenous peoples to customary tenure persist after the assumption of sovereignty under settler colonialism...

including Oneida I
Oneida Indian Nation of N.Y. State v. Oneida County
Oneida Indian Nation of N.Y. State v. Oneida Cnty., 414 U.S. 661 , is a landmark decision concerning aboriginal title in the United States...

(1974), "first of the modern-day [Native American land] claim cases to be filed in federal court," and Oneida II
Oneida County v. Oneida Indian Nation of N.Y. State
Oneida Cnty. v. Oneida Indian Nation of N.Y. State, 470 U.S. 226 , is a landmark decision concerning aboriginal title in the United States...

(1985), "the first Indian land claim case won on the basis of the Nonintercourse Act." New York was the site of nearly all remaining Native American possessory land claims when the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals...

held in Cayuga Indian Nation of N.Y. v. Pataki
Cayuga Indian Nation of N.Y. v. Pataki
Cayuga Indian Nation of N.Y. v. Pataki, 413 F.3d 266 , is an important precedent in the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit for the litigation of aboriginal title in the United States. Applying the U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling in City of Sherrill v...

(2005) that the equitable doctrine of laches

Laches (equity)

Laches is an "unreasonable delay pursuing a right or claim...in a way that prejudices the [opposing] party" When asserted in litigation, it is an equitable defense, or doctrine...

bars all tribal land claims sounding in ejectment

Ejectment

Ejectment is the common law term for civil action to recover the possession of and title to land. It replaced the old real actions as well as the various possessory assizes...

or trespass

Trespass

Trespass is an area of tort law broadly divided into three groups: trespass to the person, trespass to chattels and trespass to land.Trespass to the person, historically involved six separate trespasses: threats, assault, battery, wounding, mayhem, and maiming...

, for both tribal plaintiffs and the federal government as plaintiff-intervenor. Since the ruling, no tribal plaintiff has overcome the laches defense in a land claim in the Second Circuit.

There are currently 10 Indian reservation

Indian reservation

An American Indian reservation is an area of land managed by a Native American tribe under the United States Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs...

s in New York: Allegany Indian Reservation, Cattaraugus Reservation

Cattaraugus Reservation

Cattaraugus Reservation is an Indian reservation of the Seneca Indian Nation of the Iroquois Confederacy located in New York. As of the 2000 census, the Indian reservation had a total population of 2,412. Its total area is about 34.4 mi²...

, Oil Springs Reservation

Oil Springs Reservation

Oil Springs Reservation is an Indian reservation of the Seneca tribe located in New York, USA. As of the 2010 census, the Indian reservation has one resident. Although the reservation is controlled by the Seneca tribe, as of 2005 no tribal members actually live on the Oil Springs Reservation. It is...

, Oneida Reservation

Oneida Indian Nation

The Oneida Indian Nation is the Oneida tribe that resides in New York and currently owns a number of businesses and tribal land in Verona, NY, Oneida, NY, and Canastota, NY.- Businesses :...

, Onondaga Reservation, Poospatuck Reservation, St. Regis Mohawk Reservation, Shinnecock Reservation, Tonawanda Reservation

Tonawanda Reservation

The Tonawanda Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation of the Tonawanda Band of Seneca Indians located in western New York, USA. The band is a federally recognized tribe and, in the 2000 census, had 543 people living on the reservation...

, and Tuscarora Reservation.

New Netherlands

The details of the early dealings with indigenous peoples by the Dutch New Netherland settlements

New Netherland settlements

New Netherland, or Nieuw-Nederland in Dutch, was the 17th century colonial province of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands on northeastern coast of North America. The claimed territory were the lands from the Delmarva Peninsula to southern Cape Cod. Settled areas are now part of...

are not known with certainty. The first recorded land transaction is reported by a letter from Peter Schagen, the deputy of the Dutch West India Company

Dutch West India Company

Dutch West India Company was a chartered company of Dutch merchants. Among its founding fathers was Willem Usselincx...

, on November 5, 1626, claiming: "They have purchased the Island Manhattes

Manhattan

Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...

from the Indians for the value of 60 guilders; 'tis 11,000 morgens

Dutch units of measurement

The Dutch units of measurement used today are those of the metric system. Before the 19th century, a wide variety of different weights and measures were used by the various Dutch towns and provinces. Despite the country's small size, there was a lack of uniformity...

in size." Many secondary sources simply report this value as $24; of course: United States Dollar

United States dollar

The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....

s (and the United States) did not exist in 1626; 60 guilders likely represented the estimated value of trade goods; the historical exchange rate calculation used to reach this figure is not known (if in fact it is the source of any such calculation). By comparison, the value of the goods on the ship bearing the letter back to the Netherlands was 45,000 guilders. Sixty guilders in 1626, converted and adjusted for inflation, would be $888 in 2001 U.S. dollars. If invested at a 6% interest rate, the sum would have been enough to buy back Manhattan at current realty values (as of 1947).

Prof. Banner, noting that the transaction was the first "purchase" of land from the indigenous population of the continent, and the fact that the natives remained in Manhattan and traded with the Dutch, argues that they would have been extremely unlikely to understand the transaction as a "sale." Other sources date the transaction to May 6, 1626. Dutch land patents traced their title to such a purchase. The colony's "New Project of Freedoms and Exemptions

Charter of Freedoms and Exemptions

The Charter of Freedoms and Exemptions, sometimes referred to as the Charter of Privileges and Exemptions, is a document written by the Dutch West India Company in an effort to settle its colony of New Netherland in North America through the establishment of feudal patroonships purchased and...

" (1629) prohibited private purchases of land from the indigenous population; a privilege reserved only for the Patroon

Patroon

In the United States, a patroon was a landholder with manorial rights to large tracts of land in the 17th century Dutch colony of New Netherland in North America...

s of New Netherland. An amendment in 1640 gave preference "in the selections of land" to those who notified the Company. The Patroons' reports to the States General refer to other land purchases in June 1634, October 25, 1634, and 1651.

Province of New York

The British concluded the Treaty of Fort Stanwix

Treaty of Fort Stanwix

The Treaty of Fort Stanwix was an important treaty between North American Indians and the British Empire. It was signed in 1768 at Fort Stanwix, located in present-day Rome, New York...

with the Iroquois in 1768, bringing the boundary line of the colony into conformity with the Royal Proclamation of 1763

Royal Proclamation of 1763

The Royal Proclamation of 1763 was issued October 7, 1763, by King George III following Great Britain's acquisition of French territory in North America after the end of the French and Indian War/Seven Years' War...

. The method of purchasing lands established in that treaty was codified in the 1777 Constitution of New York.

Articles of Confederation-era

During the Articles of Confederation

Articles of Confederation

The Articles of Confederation, formally the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, was an agreement among the 13 founding states that legally established the United States of America as a confederation of sovereign states and served as its first constitution...

-era, New York purchased a large amount of land from the Iroquois without complying with the requirements of the Confederation Congress Proclamation of 1783

Confederation Congress Proclamation of 1783

. Two-hundred years later, the Second Circuit held that the Confederation Congress had neither the intent nor the authority to restrict such purchased by states within their borders.

New York and Massachusetts had long-disputed the property and sovereign rights to modern-day western New York. They resolved their differences in 1786 with the Treaty of Hartford

Treaty of Hartford

The term Treaty of Hartford applies to three historic agreements negotiated at Hartford, Connecticut. The 1638 treaty divided the spoils of the Pequot War. The 1650 treaty defined a border between the Dutch Nieuw Amsterdam and English settlers in Connecticut...

, granting the property rights to Massachusetts and the sovereign rights to New York. In 1788, Oliver Phelps

Oliver Phelps

Oliver Phelps was born in Poquonock, Connecticut and moved to Suffield, Connecticut, where he apprenticed to a local merchant. He shortly thereafter became a tavern keeper in Granville, Massachusetts. During the Revolution he was Deputy Commissary of the Continental Army and served until the end...

and Nathaniel Gorham

Nathaniel Gorham

Nathaniel Gorham was the fourteenth President of the United States in Congress assembled, under the Articles of Confederation...

acquired the pre-emptive rights to western New York from the state of Massachusetts in what became known as the Phelps and Gorham Purchase

Phelps and Gorham Purchase

The Phelps and Gorham Purchase was the purchase in 1788 of the pre-emptive right to some 6,000,000 acres of land in western New York State for $1,000,000 . This was all land in western New York west of Seneca Lake between Lake Ontario and the Pennsylvania border...

Post-Constitution

President George Washington

George Washington

George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...

gave the following speech to the Seneca Nation of New York

Seneca Nation of New York

The Seneca Nation of New York, also known as the Seneca Nation of Indians is a federally recognized tribe of Seneca people in New York...

in 1790, after the passage of the Nonintercourse Act:

I am not uninformed that the six Nations have been led into some difficulties with respect to the sale of their lands since the peace. But I must inform you that these evils arose before the present government of the United States was established, when the separate States and individuals under their authority, undertook to treat with the Indian tribes respecting the sale of their lands. But the case is now entirely altered. The general Government only has the power, to treat with the Indian Nations, and any treaty formed and held without its authority will not be binding. Here then is the security for the remainder of your lands. No State nor person can purchase your lands, unless at some public treaty held under the authority of the United States. The general government will never consent to your being defrauded. But it will protect you in all your just rights.

Phelps and Gorham defaulted on their payments to Massachusetts in 1790 and the un-exercised western portion pre-emptive rights reverted back to the state in 1791. Massachusetts resold the rights to Robert Morris that year. Morris retained the Morris Reserve

Morris Reserve

The Morris Reserve was a 500,000 acre tract of land owned by Robert Morris in western New York in the late 18th Century. It was originally part of the 6,000,000 acre purchase in April 1788 of the pre-emptive right to all of Massachusetts' lands in western New York by Oliver Phelps and Nathaniel...

for himself and sold the western portion of his rights to the Holland Land Company

Holland Land Company

The Holland Land Company was a purchaser of the western two-thirds of the western New York land tract known as the Phelps and Gorham Purchase. This tract was known thereafter as The Holland Purchase...

in 1792 and 1793 (the Holland Purchase

Holland Purchase

The Holland Purchase was a large tract of land in what is now the western portion of the U.S. state of New York. It consisted of about 3,250,000 acres of land from a line approximately 12 miles to the west of the Genesee River to the present western border and boundary of New York State.The land...

).

The state of New York disregarded the requirements of the Nonintercourse Act (that a federal commissioner be present and that any sale of Indian lands be approved by Congress) and purchased lands directly from Indians within the state until 1846.

According to Prof. Hauptman: "American Indians, the state's first residents, ended up in a quasicolonial status, dependent on the very people—Albany policymakers—who were responsible for dispossessing them. It is little wonder that the legacy of this colonial relationship in modern times has been the Iroquois land claims movement and that the lead community pushing these claims is the Oneidas . . . ."

Treaties

with the British

Treaty	Date	Treaty location	Tribe(s)	Land provisions	Notes
Treaty of Fort Stanwix Treaty of Fort Stanwix The Treaty of Fort Stanwix was an important treaty between North American Indians and the British Empire. It was signed in 1768 at Fort Stanwix, located in present-day Rome, New York...	Nov. 5, 1768	Fort Stanwix Fort Stanwix Fort Stanwix was a colonial fort whose construction was started on August 26, 1758, by British General John Stanwix, at the location of present-day Rome, New York, but was not completed until about 1762. The fort guarded a portage known as the Oneida Carrying Place during the French and Indian War...	Six Nations Iroquois The Iroquois , also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are an association of several tribes of indigenous people of North America...	Line of Property Line of Property The Line of Property is the name commonly given to the line dividing Indian from British Colonial lands established in the Treaty of Fort Stanwix of 1768... established

with the United States

Treaty	Date	Treaty location	Tribe(s)	Land provisions	Notes
Treaty of Fort Stanwix (1784) Treaty of Fort Stanwix (1784) The Treaty of Fort Stanwix was a treaty signed in October 1784 at Fort Stanwix, located in present-day Rome, New York, between the United States and Native Americans...	Oct. 22, 1784	Fort Stanwix Fort Stanwix Fort Stanwix was a colonial fort whose construction was started on August 26, 1758, by British General John Stanwix, at the location of present-day Rome, New York, but was not completed until about 1762. The fort guarded a portage known as the Oneida Carrying Place during the French and Indian War...	Six Nations	Defines Western and Northern boundaries
Treaty of Fort McIntosh Treaty of Fort McIntosh The Treaty of Fort McIntosh was a treaty between the United States government and representatives of the Wyandotte, Delaware, Chippewa and Ottawa nations of Native Americans...	Jan. 21, 1785	Fort McIntosh (Pennsylvania) Fort McIntosh (Pennsylvania) Fort McIntosh was an early American log frontier fort situated near the confluence of the Ohio River and the Beaver River in what is now Beaver, Pennsylvania....	Wyandot, Delaware Lenape The Lenape are an Algonquian group of Native Americans of the Northeastern Woodlands. They are also called Delaware Indians. As a result of the American Revolutionary War and later Indian removals from the eastern United States, today the main groups live in Canada, where they are enrolled in the... , Chippewa, and Ottawa Odawa people The Odawa or Ottawa, said to mean "traders," are a Native American and First Nations people. They are one of the Anishinaabeg, related to but distinct from the Ojibwe nation. Their original homelands are located on Manitoulin Island, near the northern shores of Lake Huron, on the Bruce Peninsula in...	Defines boundaries and reservations	Never enforced; superseded by treaty of Aug. 3, 1795 at Greenville
Treaty of Fort Harmar Treaty of Fort Harmar The Treaty of Fort Harmar was an agreement between the United States government and numerous Native American tribes with claims to the Ohio Country. it was signed at Fort Harmar, near present-day Marietta, Ohio, on January 9, 1789. Representatives of the Six Nations and other groups including the...	Jan. 9, 1789	Fort Harmar Fort Harmar Fort Harmar was an early United States frontier military fort, built in pentagonal shape during 1785 at the confluence of the Ohio and Muskingum Rivers, on the west side of the mouth of the Muskingum River. It was built under the orders of Josiah Harmar and took his name... (Ohio)	Six Nations Iroquois The Iroquois , also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are an association of several tribes of indigenous people of North America...	Modified treaty of Oct. 22, 1784 to protect lands south (in addition to east and north) of ceded lands
Treaty of Canandaigua Treaty of Canandaigua The Treaty of Canandaigua is a treaty signed after the American Revolutionary War between the Grand Council of the Six Nations and President George Washington representing the United States of America....	Nov. 11, 1794	Canandaigua, New York Canandaigua (city), New York Canandaigua is a city in Ontario County, New York, USA, of which it is the county seat. The population was 11,264 at the 2000 census...	Six Nations Iroquois The Iroquois , also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are an association of several tribes of indigenous people of North America...	Onondaga, Oneida, and Cayuga reserves confirmed; Seneca boundaries defined
Treaty of New York Treaty of New York The Treaty of New York is one of several treaties signed between the United States and Native American tribes, conducted in the city of New York.-1790:...	May 31, 1796	New York City New York City New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...	Seven Nations of Canada Seven Nations of Canada The Seven Nations of Canada were a historic confederation of Canadian First Nations living in and around the Saint Lawrence River valley beginning in the eighteenth century. They were allied to New France and often included substantial numbers of Roman Catholic converts. During the Seven Years War...	Seven Nations relinquish all claims in New York outside of two reservations
Treaty of Albany	March 29, 1797	Albany, New York Albany, New York Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...	Mohawk	Mohawks cede to New York all claims in New York
Treaty of Big Tree Treaty of Big Tree Treaty of Big Tree was a formal treaty, held from August 20, 1797 until September 16, 1797, between the Seneca nation and the United States of America. The delegates for both parties met at the residence of William Wadsworth, an early pioneer of the area and Captain of the local militia, in what is...	Sept. 15, 1797	Genesee, New York Genesee, New York Genesee is a town in Allegany County, New York, United States. The population was 1,803 at the 2000 census.The Town of Genesee is in the southwest corner of the county, southeast of Olean, New York.-History:The first settler arrived around 1823...	Seneca	Senecas sell Morris Reserve Morris Reserve The Morris Reserve was a 500,000 acre tract of land owned by Robert Morris in western New York in the late 18th Century. It was originally part of the 6,000,000 acre purchase in April 1788 of the pre-emptive right to all of Massachusetts' lands in western New York by Oliver Phelps and Nathaniel... , minus twelve reservations
Treaty of Buffalo Creek Treaty of Buffalo Creek -1788:The Treaty of Buffalo Creek should not be confused with the Phelps and Gorham Purchase of lands east of the Genesee River in New York, which occurred at Buffalo Creek on July 8, 1788... (I)	June 30, 1802	Buffalo Creek Reservation Buffalo Creek Reservation The Buffalo Creek Reservation was a tract of land surrounding Buffalo Creek in the central portion of Erie County, New York. It contained approximately of land and was set aside for the Native Americans of the region...	Seneca	Senecas cede two reservations to Holland Land Company Holland Land Company The Holland Land Company was a purchaser of the western two-thirds of the western New York land tract known as the Phelps and Gorham Purchase. This tract was known thereafter as The Holland Purchase... in exchange for other lands
Treaty of Buffalo Creek Treaty of Buffalo Creek -1788:The Treaty of Buffalo Creek should not be confused with the Phelps and Gorham Purchase of lands east of the Genesee River in New York, which occurred at Buffalo Creek on July 8, 1788... (II)	June 30, 1802	Buffalo Creek Reservation Buffalo Creek Reservation The Buffalo Creek Reservation was a tract of land surrounding Buffalo Creek in the central portion of Erie County, New York. It contained approximately of land and was set aside for the Native Americans of the region...	Seneca	Senecas cede Little Beard's reservation to Phelps, Bronson, and Jones
Treaty of Buffalo Creek Treaty of Buffalo Creek -1788:The Treaty of Buffalo Creek should not be confused with the Phelps and Gorham Purchase of lands east of the Genesee River in New York, which occurred at Buffalo Creek on July 8, 1788... (III)	Jan. 15, 1838	Buffalo Creek Reservation Buffalo Creek Reservation The Buffalo Creek Reservation was a tract of land surrounding Buffalo Creek in the central portion of Erie County, New York. It contained approximately of land and was set aside for the Native Americans of the region...	"Several tribes of the New York Indians"	Senecas sell to Ogden and Fellows the Buffalo Creek Reservation Buffalo Creek Reservation The Buffalo Creek Reservation was a tract of land surrounding Buffalo Creek in the central portion of Erie County, New York. It contained approximately of land and was set aside for the Native Americans of the region... , Cattaraugus Reserve, Allegany Reservation, and Tonawanda Reservation Tonawanda Reservation The Tonawanda Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation of the Tonawanda Band of Seneca Indians located in western New York, USA. The band is a federally recognized tribe and, in the 2000 census, had 543 people living on the reservation... ; Tuscaroras sell reservation to Ogden and Fellows
Treaty of Buffalo Creek Treaty of Buffalo Creek -1788:The Treaty of Buffalo Creek should not be confused with the Phelps and Gorham Purchase of lands east of the Genesee River in New York, which occurred at Buffalo Creek on July 8, 1788... (IV)	May 20, 1842	Buffalo Creek Reservation Buffalo Creek Reservation The Buffalo Creek Reservation was a tract of land surrounding Buffalo Creek in the central portion of Erie County, New York. It contained approximately of land and was set aside for the Native Americans of the region...	Seneca	Ogden and Fellows drop claim to Cattaraugus and Allegany resrvations
Treaty with the Seneca, Tonawanda Band Treaty of Buffalo Creek -1788:The Treaty of Buffalo Creek should not be confused with the Phelps and Gorham Purchase of lands east of the Genesee River in New York, which occurred at Buffalo Creek on July 8, 1788...	Nov. 5, 1857	Tonawanda Reservation Tonawanda Reservation The Tonawanda Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation of the Tonawanda Band of Seneca Indians located in western New York, USA. The band is a federally recognized tribe and, in the 2000 census, had 543 people living on the reservation...	Tonawanda Band of Seneca Indians Tonawanda Band of Seneca Indians The Tonawanda Band of Seneca Indians maintained the traditional form of government by Seneca chiefs and clan mothers after the Alleghany and Cattaraugus Reservations broke away and formed the Seneca Nation of Indians in 1848...	Tonawanda Band purchase part of Tonawanda Reservation from Ogden and Fellows and surrender claim to remaining portion

with the State of New York

Treaty	Date	Treaty location	Tribe(s)	Land provisions	Notes
	1785	Fort Herkimer Fort Herkimer Fort Herkimer was a fort located on the southern side of the Mohawk River, opposite West Canada Creek, in central New York, United States.The fort was first built in 1740, around the homestead of the Herscheimer family...	Oneida Oneida tribe The Oneida are a Native American/First Nations people and are one of the five founding nations of the Iroquois Confederacy in the area of upstate New York...	300000 acres (1,214.1 km²) in Broome and Chenango counties acquired for $11,500
	Sept. 1788	Fort Schuyler	Oneida Oneida tribe The Oneida are a Native American/First Nations people and are one of the five founding nations of the Iroquois Confederacy in the area of upstate New York...	5000000 acres (20,234.3 km²) acquired, minus reservations in Madison and Oneida counties, for $5,500 plus a $600 annuity
	1790		Oneida Oneida tribe The Oneida are a Native American/First Nations people and are one of the five founding nations of the Iroquois Confederacy in the area of upstate New York...	4000 acres (16.2 km²) in present-day Utica, New York Utica, New York Utica is a city in and the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The population was 62,235 at the 2010 census, an increase of 2.6% from the 2000 census.... granted to Samuel Kirkland Samuel Kirkland Rev. Samuel Kirkland was a Presbyterian missionary among the Oneida and Tuscarora people in North America. Kirkland graduated from Princeton in 1765. On September 20, 1769, Samuel Kirkland married Jerusha Bingham in Windham, Connecticut... and his sons
	March 1793		Onondaga	Lands around Onondaga Lake Onondaga Lake Onondaga Lake is a lake in Central New York located northwest of Syracuse, New York. The southeastern end of the lake and the southwestern shore abut industrial areas and expressways; the northeastern shore and northwestern end border a series of parks and museums. Although it is near the Finger... ; authorized roads
	July 27, 1795		Cayuga Cayuga nation The Cayuga people was one of the five original constituents of the Haudenosaunee , a confederacy of American Indians in New York. The Cayuga homeland lay in the Finger Lakes region along Cayuga Lake, between their league neighbors, the Onondaga to the east and the Seneca to the west...	All Cayuga lands except a parcel around Cayuga Lake Cayuga Lake Cayuga Lake is the longest of central New York's glacial Finger Lakes, and is the second largest in surface area and second largest in volume. It is just under 40 miles long. Its average width is 1.7 miles , and it is at its widest point near Aurora...
	July 28, 1795		Oneida Oneida tribe The Oneida are a Native American/First Nations people and are one of the five founding nations of the Iroquois Confederacy in the area of upstate New York...		According to Prof. Hauptman, the treaty was the "model for all Albany's efforts to dispossess the Oneidas for the next half-century."
"Salt treaty" Salt industry in Syracuse, New York The salt industry has a long history in and around Syracuse, New York. Jesuit missionaries visiting the region in 1654 were the first to report salty brine springs around the southern end of "Salt Lake", known today as Onondaga Lake...	1795		Onondaga
	Sept. 15, 1795		Oneida Oneida tribe The Oneida are a Native American/First Nations people and are one of the five founding nations of the Iroquois Confederacy in the area of upstate New York...	100000 acres (404.7 km²) for $2,952 and $2,952 annuity	Utilized state "power of attorney Power of attorney A power of attorney or letter of attorney is a written authorization to represent or act on another's behalf in private affairs, business, or some other legal matter... " statute
	Oct. 8, 1829		Oneida Oneida tribe The Oneida are a Native American/First Nations people and are one of the five founding nations of the Iroquois Confederacy in the area of upstate New York...	1692 acres (6.8 km²) from "First Christian Party"

State law

Constitution

N.Y. Const. of 1777 art. XXXVII provided:

And whereas it is of great importance to the safety of this State that peace and amity with the Indians within the same be at all times supported and maintained; and whereas the frauds too often practiced towards the said Indians, in contracts made for their lands, have, in divers instances, been productive of dangerous discontents and animosities: Be it ordained, that no purchases or contracts for the sale of lands, made since the fourteenth day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five, or which may hereafter be made with or of the said Indians, within the limits of this State, shall be binding on the said Indians, or deemed valid, unless made under the authority and with the consent of the legislature of this State.

N.Y. Const. of 1821 art. VII, § 12 provided:

[Indian lands.]—No purchase or contract for the sale of lands in this state, made since the fourteenth day of October, one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five, or which may hereafter be made, of or with the Indians in this state, shall be valid, unless made under the authority, and with the consent, of the legislature.

N.Y. Const. of 1846 art. I, § 16 provided:

[Indian lands.]—No purchase or contract for the sale of lands in this state, made since the fourteenth day of October, one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five, or which may hereafter be made, of or with the Indians, shall be valid unless made under the authority and with the consent of the legislature.

N.Y. Const. of 1894 art. 1, § 15 and N.Y. Const. of 1938 art I. § 13 provided:

[Purchase of lands of Indians.]—No purchase or contract for the sale of lands in this State, made since the fourteenth day of October, one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five; or which may hereafter be made, of, or with the indians, shall be valid, unless made under the authority, and with the consent of the Legislature.

§ 13 was repealed on November 6, 1962 by popular vote.

Statutes

The New York legislature passed two laws in 1784 and 1785 for the "settlement of the waste and unappropriated lands"; the laws created methods to advertise and distribute Indian lands to private citizens, even before the aboriginal title was extinguished.

Legislation enforcing the constitutional prohibition with sanctions was not passed until 1788.

In Feb. 1798, the legislature passed an act "Authorizing the Governor to Appoint Commissioners to treat with the Oneida Indians for the purchase of part of their lands."

The Act of March 31, 1821 provided:

[I]t shall be unlawful for any person or persons, other than Indians, to settle or reside upon any lands belonging to or occupied by any nation or tribe of Indians within this state; and that all leases, contracts and agreements made by any Indians, whereby any person or persons, other than Indians, shall be permitted to reside upon such lands, shall be absolutely void; and if any person or persons shall settle or reside on any such lands, contrary to this act, it shall be the duty of any judge of any court of Common Pleas of the county within which such lands shall be situated, on complaint made to him, and on due proof of the fact of such settlement or residence, to issue his warrant, under his hand and seal, directed to the sheriff of such county, commanding him, within ten days after the receipt thereof, to remove such person or persons so settling or residing, with his, her or their families, from such lands.

Case law

Jackson v. Wood, 7 Johns. 290 (1810) (Kent, C.J.
James Kent
James Kent was an American jurist and legal scholar.-Life:...

)
Goodell v. Jackson, 20 Johns. 693 (1823) (Kent, Ch.
James Kent
James Kent was an American jurist and legal scholar.-Life:...

)

Land litigation by tribe

United States v. New York Indians, 173 U.S. 464 (1899) (Onondagas, Oneidas, Stockbridges
Mahican
The Mahican are an Eastern Algonquian Native American tribe, originally settling in the Hudson River Valley . After 1680, many moved to Stockbridge, Massachusetts. During the early 1820s and 1830s, most of the Mahican descendants migrated westward to northeastern Wisconsin...

, Munsees
Lenape
The Lenape are an Algonquian group of Native Americans of the Northeastern Woodlands. They are also called Delaware Indians. As a result of the American Revolutionary War and later Indian removals from the eastern United States, today the main groups live in Canada, where they are enrolled in the...

, and Brothertowns
Brothertown Indians
The Brothertown Indians are Native American descendants of the Pequot and Mohegan tribes in southern New England...

)

Cayuga

That Portion of the Cayuga Indians Residing in Can. v. State, 1 N.E. 770 (N.Y. 1885)
Cayuga Indian Nation of N.Y. v. Pataki
Cayuga Indian Nation of N.Y. v. Pataki
Cayuga Indian Nation of N.Y. v. Pataki, 413 F.3d 266 , is an important precedent in the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit for the litigation of aboriginal title in the United States. Applying the U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling in City of Sherrill v...

, 413 F.3d 266 (2d Cir. 2005)

Mohawk

St. Regis Indians v. Drum, 19 Johns. 127 (N.Y. Sup. 1821) (denying cause of action for assumpsit
Assumpsit
Assumpsit is a form of action at common law for the recovery of damages caused by the breach or non-performance of a simple contract, either express or implied, and whether made orally or in writing....

).
Deere v. New York, 22 F.2d 851 (N.D.N.Y. 1927), aff'd sub nom., Deere v. St. Lawrence River Power Co., 32 F.2d 550 (2d Cir. 1929) (holding that there was no federal jurisdiction for such ejectment suits).
Canadian St. Regis Band of Mohawk Indians v. New York, 97 F.R.D. 453 (N.D.N.Y. 1983); 573 F. Supp. 1530 (N.D.N.Y. 1983); 640 F. Supp. 203 (N.D.N.Y. 1986); 146 F. Supp.2d 170 (N.D.N.Y. 2001); 205 F.R.D. 88 (N.D.N.Y. 2002); 278 F. Supp.2d 313 (N.D.N.Y. 2003); 388 F. Supp.2d 25 (N.D.N.Y. 2005); 2005 WL 2573468 (N.D.N.Y. 2005)

The Mohawk land claim was settled in 2005 for $100,000,000, the right to purchase up to 14000 acres (56.7 km²) to be designated as Indian country, and a casino development proposal. The Interior Department rejected the casino proposal in 2008.

Montauk

Montauk Tribe of Indians v. Long Island R. Co., 51 N.Y.S. 142 (App. Div. 1898).
Johnson v. Long Island R. Co., 61 N.Y.S. 1139 (App. Div. 1899) (per curiam), rev'd, 56 N.E. 992 (N.Y. 1900)
Pharaoh v. Benson, 126 N.Y.S. 1035 (Sup. Ct. 1910), aff’d, 149 N.Y.S. 438 (App. Div. 1914), aff’d 119 N.E. 1072 (N.Y. 1918) (per curiam).

Oneida

United States v. Boylan, 265 F. 165 (2d Cir. 1920)
Oneida Indian Nation of N.Y. State v. Oneida Cnty., 414 U.S. 661 (1974)
Oneida Cnty. v. Oneida Indian Nation of N.Y. State, 470 U.S. 226 (1985)
Oneida Indian Nation of N.Y. v. New York, 649 F. Supp. 420 (N.D.N.Y. 1986), aff'd, 860 F.2d 1145 (2d Cir. 1988), cert. denied, 493 U.S. 871 (1989)
Oneida Indian Nation of N.Y. v. Cnty. of Oneida, 1999 WL 1281502 (N.D.N.Y. 1999); 2000 WL 33682810 (N.D.N.Y. 2000); 199 F.R.D. 61 (N.D.N.Y. 2000); 132 F. Supp. 2d 71 (N.D.N.Y. 2000); 201 F.R.D. 64 (N.D.N.Y. 2001); 194 F.Supp. 2d 104 (N.D.N.Y. 2002); 500 F. Supp. 2d 128 (N.D.N.Y. 2007), aff'd in part, rev'd in part and remanded, 617 F.3d 114 (2d Cir. 2010)

According to Professor Hauptman: "No other Indian community in New York State was affected more by the transportation revolution than the Oneidas. The Oneida lands, totaling more than five million acres in 1784, were the necessary ingredient for the rise of the Empire State. With its center in Oneida and Madison Counties, these lands were situated at a vital transportation crossroads that was essential for New York's economic growth after the Revolution."

Onondaga

Hennessy v. Dimmler, 394 N.Y.S.2d 786 (Co. Ct. 1977)
Onondaga Nation v. New York, 2010 WL 3806492 (N.D.N.Y. 2010)

Seneca

Tonawanda Band

Fellows v. Blacksmith
Fellows v. Blacksmith
Fellows v. Blacksmith, 60 U.S. 366 , was the first litigation of aboriginal title in the United States in the U.S. Supreme Court by an indigenous plaintiff since Cherokee Nation v. Georgia...

, 60 U.S. (19 How.) 366 (1857)
New York ex rel. Cutler v. Dibble
New York ex rel. Cutler v. Dibble
New York ex rel. Cutler v. Dibble, 62 U.S. 366 , was a companion case to the more well-known Fellows v. Blacksmith . At the time Fellows was decided, this case had reached the U.S...

, 62 U.S. (21 How.) 366 (1858)

Seneca Nation of Indians

Strong v. Waterman, 5 Sarat. Ch. Sent. 13 (Sup. Ct. 1845), rev'd, 11 Paige Ch. 607 (Ch. Ct. 1845)
Seneca Nation of Indians v. Tyler, 14 How. Pr. 109 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. 1857)
Seneca Nation of Indians v. Knight, 23 N.Y. 498 (1861)
Seneca Nation of Indians v. Philonus Pattison [also: "Philemus Patterson"], 487 N.Y.S.L. Case No. 1 (N.Y. 1861)
Seneca Nation of Indians v. Lehley, 8 N.Y.S. 245 (Sup. Ct. 1889)
Seneca Nation of Indians v. Hugaboom, 9 N.Y.S. 699 (Sup. Ct. 1890), aff'd, 30 N.E. 983 (N.Y. 1892)
Seneca Nation of Indians v. John, 16 N.Y.S. 40 (Sup. Ct. 1891)
Seneca Nation of Indians v. Christy
Seneca Nation of Indians v. Christy
Seneca Nation of Indians v. Christy, 162 U.S. 283 , was the first litigation of aboriginal title in the United States by a tribal plaintiff in the Supreme Court of the United States since Cherokee Nation v. Georgia , and the first such litigation by an indigenous plaintiff since Fellows v....

, 162 U.S. 283 (1896)
Seneca Nation of Indians v. Appleby, 112 N.Y.S. 177 (App. Div. 1908), rev'd, 89 N.E. 835 (N.Y. 1909)
City of Salamanca v. Seneca Nation of Indians, 47 F. Supp. 939 (W.D.N.Y. 1942)
Seneca Nation of Indians v. United States, 122 Ct. Cl. 163 (1952)
United States v. 21,250 Acres of Land, More or Less, Situate in Cattaraugus Cnty., 161 F. Supp. 376 (W.D.N.Y. 1957)
Seneca Nation of Indians v. Brucker, 162 F. Supp. 580 (D.D.C. 1958), aff'd, 262 F.2d 27 (D.C. Cir. 1958), cert. denied, 360 U.S. 909 (1959)
Seneca Nation of Indians v. United States, 338 F.2d 55 (2d Cir. 1964), cert. denied 380 U.S. 952 (1965)
Seneca Nation of Indians v. United States, 173 Ct. Cl. 912 (1965)
Seneca Nation of Indians v. United States, 173 Ct. Cl. 917 (1965)
United States v. Certain Parcels of Land in Cattaraugus Cnty., 327 F.Supp. 181 (W.D.N.Y. 1970), aff'd, 443 F.2d 375 (2d Cir. 1970)
Seneca Nation of Indians v. New York, 397 F. Supp. 685 (W.D.N.Y. 1975)
Fluent v. Salamanca Indian Lease Auth., 928 F.2d 542 (2d Cir. 1991), cert. denied, 502 U.S. 818 (1991)
Seneca Nation of Indians v. New York, 1994 WL 688262 (W.D.N.Y. 1994)
Valvo v. Seneca Nation of Indians, 650 N.Y.S.2d 937 (N.Y. Sup. 1996)
Seneca Nation of Indians v. New York, 26 F. Supp. 2d 555 (W.D.N.Y. 1998), aff'd, 178 F.3d 95 (2nd Cir. 1999), cert. denied, 528 U.S. 1073 (2000) (holding that state eminent domain usage violated Nonintercourse Act)
Seneca Nation of Indians v. New York, 206 F. Supp. 2d 448 (W.D.N.Y. 2002), aff'd, 382 F.3d 245 (2d Cir. 2004), cert. denied, 547 U.S. 1178 (2006); 213 F.R.D. 131 (W.D.N.Y. 2003); 383 F.3d 45 (2d Cir. 2004), cert. denied, 547 U.S. 1178 (2006)

Shinnecock

District Attorney of Suffolk Cnty. v. Great Cove Realty Co., 137 N.Y.S.2d 570 (Co. Ct. 1955), aff'd sub nom Brenner v. Great Cove Realty Co., 65 N.Y.S.2d 143 (App. Div.) (mem.), reargument denied, 166 N.Y.S.2d 1014 (App. Div. 1957), appeal denied, 148 N.E.2d 915 (N.Y.), and appeal denied, 149 N.E.2d 521 (N.Y. 1958), rev'd, 160 N.E.2d 826 (N.Y.), reargument denied, 163 N.E.2d 677 (N.Y.), on remand, 195 N.Y.S.2d 935 (App. Div. 1959) (mem.), reargument denied, 199 N.Y.S.2d 441 (App. Div.), appeal denied, 168 N.E.2d 490 (N.Y. 1960), appeal dismissed and cert. denied, 365 U.S. 769 (1961) (per curiam).
Shinnecock Indian Nation v. New York, 2006 WL 3501099 (E.D.N.Y. 2006)

External links

"Bummer in the Hamptons", The Daily Show
The Daily Show
The Daily Show , is an American late night satirical television program airing each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central. The half-hour long show premiered on July 21, 1996, and was hosted by Craig Kilborn until December 1998...

(July 28, 2005)
Text of the "Report of Special Committee to Investigate the Indian Problem", N.Y. State Assembly Doc. No. 51 (Feb. 1, 1889) ["Whipple Report"]

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