The traditional part of the Cayuga Nation of New York is claiming the tribe's federal representative acted without consulting the entire tribe by negotiating a land and casino deal with Cayuga and Seneca counties and the state of New York.

The Cayuga Nation's official leadership counter that the traditional Cayugas are a disaffected faction who have checked out from participation in the tribe's governance.

Joseph Heath, the attorney for the traditional Cayugas, said the tribe is supposed to operate under consensus and that council members, William “Chuck” Jacobs, Sam George and Chester Issac, who lives out of state, were excluded from council meetings during which decisions to negotiate the agreement were made.

“The important thing to remember here is the Cayuga citizens know none of this,” Heath said. “This is so counter to the fundamental democracy of the Haudenosaunee council. Decisions are made by council but made with the full knowledge of the citizens.”

Dan French, the attorney for Clint Halftown, the tribe's federally recognized representative, countered that the council members are put on notice of when the meetings are held and that consensus is achieved in the tribe's governance. He said the absence of council members who fail to appear at meetings turns into assent in a consensus model of government. French said letters were sent to the Cayuga's membership base to see if they were OK with making a land and gaming deal with the state and the majority of responses indicated a readiness to seek a deal.

Timothy Twoguns and Gary Wheeler, who once were in opposition to Halftown, are now allied with him and formed the other two parts of the consensus to pursue this latest negotiated agreement. The duo were in opposition to Halftown in 2004 and 2005 and sought to represent the tribe when Gov. George Pataki sought a global settlement to five Native American land claims to land in New York in exchange for casinos in the Catskills.

The traditional Cayugas have without success sought to be recognized as the legitimate leadership of the Nation by the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs.

French argued that the traditional position will continue to be rejected because of the legitimacy of Halftown's leadership. He said it is a disservice to a possible settlement of the land claim to assume that the leadership quarrel by traditional Cayugas will trip up the Cayugas' assent to the agreement.

“The Cayuga Nation can't stall because a dissident group is upset,” French said. “Any objective reading of the record will lead to rejection of their arguments. That's why the state and the feds have never backed away from recognition of Clint Halftown.”

Halftown has represented the tribe in federal matters since the death of then-chief Vernon Issacs in 2003. George and Jacobs were condoled as chiefs in April 2005, the first chiefs to be condoled since the death of Issacs in 2003.

Heath's clients counter Halftown is now acting unilaterally and without the council's permission.

“There was no notice to anybody about terminating the reservation and making all these concessions that are pretty sweeping. There is not approval for this agreement,” Heath said. “The traditional leaders will do what they need to to not let this go forward.”

Staff writer Amaris Elliott-Engel can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 282 or at amaris.elliot-engel@lee.net