LAND BACK – Tribal Council updates community on February 26th Settlement Conference with Court Magistrate and Parties in the Land Claim Litigation against New York State 

Feb 27, 2024

 AKWESASNE — (Enníska/February 27, 2024)    

 Tekwanonhwerá:tons sewakwé:kon/Greetings from the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribal Council; we hope this message finds you and your family well.

We’d like to share our thoughts regarding the Court Case hearing scheduled by the Magistrate (Judge Dancks) in Syracuse, NY. The hearing concerned the New York State Land Claim and Settlement, and all parties concerned.

With a common goal in mind, we continue to work together with Akwesasne Mohawk co-plaintiffs to recover thousands of acres of land sold in violation of the Non-Intercourse Act in the 1800s, paving the way for land back to Akwesasne.

During Monday’s court hearing, Tribal Council, the co-plaintiffs, and defendants, worked with the court mediator, to resolve the few remaining issues in the settlement, specifically regarding the New York Power Authority, State Education requirements, and hunting and gathering particulars on the involved islands.

As the court mediator stated during the hearing, the parties were successful, and the Magistrate mandated the parties to submit status reports within the next several weeks.

If the settlement is finalized, tribal members in the land claim acquisition areas (A, B, C, and D) would have foreclosures lifted, past taxes erased, and there would be an opportunity for Akwesasne to reacquire 14,000 acres of land. If the settlement fails, the parties remain in court, and the only remaining claim will be the Hogansburg Triangle.

We would like to remind the community that the current settlement is substantially the same as the settlement terms approved by referendum in 2005.

Lastly, we encourage membership to attend Tribal Monthly meetings for current land claim updates, view the Frequently Asked Questions at www.srmt-nsn.gov and Tribal Council’s New York State Land Claim segment available on Akwesasne TV and the Tribe’s social media page. 

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The Saint Regis Mohawk Tribal Council is the duly elected and federally recognized government of the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe.