The Cayuga Nation and the Seneca-Cayugas of Oklahoma asked the full U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals to rehear their land claim case Monday.
All 13 judges are asked to reconsider a 2-1 decision by the 2nd Circuit June 28 dismissing the tribes' land claims.
In the 2nd Circuit's decision in June, the court ruled both tribes are not entitled to the $248 million land claim damages U.S. District Judge Neal McCurn awarded them in 2001. The court said delays by the tribes in seeking relief overrules their right to damages.
The decision echoed the U.S. Supreme Court decision in the city of Sherrill tax case, which stated too much time had passed from when the Oneida Nation lost its historic territory for the tribe to claim sovereign status for land bought through open market transactions.
In the application filed Monday, attorneys for the tribes argued the 2nd Circuit justices "expansively and erroneously" misread the Sherrill decision to require the dismissal of the tribes' claim for money damages.
The 2nd Circuit decision violates the tribes' right to monetary damages where it is not feasible to restore their sovereignty over former tribal territory, they wrote.
The Sherrill decision did not overturn the Supreme Court's prior decisions upholding the Oneidas' right to monetary damages for tribal lands taken in violation of the 1793 federal Non-Intercourse Act, they wrote.
The attorneys said that unlike the Supreme Court justices, the 2nd Circuit justices failed to recognize a tribe could maintain a land claim and receive money damages for being dispossessed of their land, even if ejectment of current landowners or other forms of relief are too extreme.
"Sherrill did not contemplate that a tribe such as the Cayugas, all of whose lands had been taken in violation of federal law and federal treaty would be left with no remedy whatsoever for 'these ancient wrongs,'" they wrote.
The decision also violated the Non-Intercourse Act, which required that any treaties with tribes be approved solely by the federal government, they argued. Most of the tribes' land ownership in Cayuga and Seneca counties ended following treaties with the state in 1795 and 1807.
In an amicus brief filed by the Haudenosaunee/Iroquois Confederacy - which the Cayuga Nation is part of - attorneys argued the 2nd Circuit went too far in its decision.
While ejectment of current landowners is prohibited because of the passage of time, that does not mean the entire land claim should be dismissed, the brief said.
The 2nd Circuit majority also failed to explain how any delay by the Cayugas was their responsibility, when "for almost 200 years there was no court with jurisdiction to hear such a claim, and the courts refused to recognize the capacity of Indian nations to bring any suit," the amicus brief said.
Staff writer Amaris Elliott-Engel can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 282 or at amaris.elliot-engel@lee.net
In the 2nd Circuit's decision in June, the court ruled both tribes are not entitled to the $248 million land claim damages U.S. District Judge Neal McCurn awarded them in 2001. The court said delays by the tribes in seeking relief overrules their right to damages.
The decision echoed the U.S. Supreme Court decision in the city of Sherrill tax case, which stated too much time had passed from when the Oneida Nation lost its historic territory for the tribe to claim sovereign status for land bought through open market transactions.
In the application filed Monday, attorneys for the tribes argued the 2nd Circuit justices "expansively and erroneously" misread the Sherrill decision to require the dismissal of the tribes' claim for money damages.
The 2nd Circuit decision violates the tribes' right to monetary damages where it is not feasible to restore their sovereignty over former tribal territory, they wrote.
The Sherrill decision did not overturn the Supreme Court's prior decisions upholding the Oneidas' right to monetary damages for tribal lands taken in violation of the 1793 federal Non-Intercourse Act, they wrote.
The attorneys said that unlike the Supreme Court justices, the 2nd Circuit justices failed to recognize a tribe could maintain a land claim and receive money damages for being dispossessed of their land, even if ejectment of current landowners or other forms of relief are too extreme.
"Sherrill did not contemplate that a tribe such as the Cayugas, all of whose lands had been taken in violation of federal law and federal treaty would be left with no remedy whatsoever for 'these ancient wrongs,'" they wrote.
The decision also violated the Non-Intercourse Act, which required that any treaties with tribes be approved solely by the federal government, they argued. Most of the tribes' land ownership in Cayuga and Seneca counties ended following treaties with the state in 1795 and 1807.
In an amicus brief filed by the Haudenosaunee/Iroquois Confederacy - which the Cayuga Nation is part of - attorneys argued the 2nd Circuit went too far in its decision.
While ejectment of current landowners is prohibited because of the passage of time, that does not mean the entire land claim should be dismissed, the brief said.
The 2nd Circuit majority also failed to explain how any delay by the Cayugas was their responsibility, when "for almost 200 years there was no court with jurisdiction to hear such a claim, and the courts refused to recognize the capacity of Indian nations to bring any suit," the amicus brief said.
Staff writer Amaris Elliott-Engel can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 282 or at amaris.elliot-engel@lee.net
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