Multiple speakers during public hearings held in June on the proposed settlement with the Cayuga Indian Nation of New York wondered if Cayuga and Seneca counties' attorney had negotiated with the right faction.

Those speakers wondered if the proposal to settle the tribe's applications to have its land taken into sovereign trust in exchange for a Las Vegas-style-casino and other conditions could be undermined in the future because of a vocal anti-gaming faction that says part of the Cayuga Nation Council has been cut off from the tribe's governance because of the actions of the tribe's federal representative.

But Dan French, the attorney that negotiated the proposed settlement and represents Cayuga Indian Nation federal representative Clint Halftown and two other members of the Cayuga Nation Council, calls that the efforts of a “dissident” group and says their claims have no traction with the New York or federal governments. The federal representative is a key position for the Cayugas; it's the point person in the tribe's dealings with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and other federal agencies.

Nedra Darling, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs, confirmed that in an “absence of evidence” otherwise, the BIA continues to recognize Halftown's authority to deal with the federal government on behalf of the Cayugas.

“Several years ago the regional office received a notice from the Cayuga Nation that Clint Halftown was to be the official federal representative for them,” Darling said. “There had been some movement on the tribal council to rescind that. But it hasn't been clear it complies with Nation law. The BIA continues to recognize this position in absence of evidence (otherwise).”

Christine Pritchard, a spokeswoman for Gov. Eliot Spitzer, said the state government relied upon the federal government's knowledge of the Cayuga Nation's leadership when negotiating issues with the tribe.

“The state has a policy of recognizing the same governance and leadership that is recognized by the federal government,” Pritchard said.

“The Nation can't be held hostage because these three individuals refuse to participate,” French said. “The federal government and the state of New York ... looked at it and agreed. The Cayuga Nation can move forward.”

But despite the decision by the BIA, the anti-gaming and self-described traditional faction said they will continue to advocate for their perspective. The Cayugas have approximately 500 members and no reservation. Many live on the Seneca Nation reservation.

Their government functions through a system of consensus and clan heritage. The Cayuga Clan Mothers represent clans identifying with the Turtle, Heron and Bear and select the chiefs. The chiefs, or the seat warmers, are responsible for canvassing their clans' perspective on issues and representing that viewpoint in the council.

In late 2004 and early 2005, the Cayugas were divided into three factions over a proposed land claim settlement negotiated with the administration of Gov. George Pataki.

The anti-gaming faction, which includes William “Chuck” Jacobs, a Heron Clan chief “condoled” in April 2005, Chester Isaac, a Bear Clan representative, and Samuel George, a Bear Clan chief condoled in April 2005, were opposed to the settlement from the outset, including saying that Halftown had been removed from his position as a “seatwarmer” July 3, 2004, by Heron Clanmother Bernadette “Birdie” Hill.

For the anti-gaming group, no gaming is appropriate in their culture except for a ceremonial game of chance involving bets of Cayuga citizens' most precious possessions which, if lost, are believed to be returned in the afterlife.

Halftown, a member of the Heron Clan, signed the proposed settlement, but then withdrew; Halftown also has disputed ever since that he had been properly removed as a Heron Clan representative.

Timothy Twoguns and Gary Wheeler, representatives on the Nation's council for the Turtle Clan, continued to advocate for the proposed global settlement to five Native American land claims to land in New York in exchange for casinos in the Catskills and to work with the Nation's then-casino development partner, Empire Resorts. They also organized an ultimate unsuccessful election of a provisional council to replace the traditional council.

Since 2005, the anti-gaming Cayugas have, without success, sought Halftown's removal as the Cayugas' federal representative and to be recognized as the legitimate leadership of the nation by the BIA.

The BIA has opted for the status quo without a clear consensus within the Cayuga Nation Council.

Darling said in the BIA's view the council is the Heron Clan's William “Chuck” Jacobs and Clint Halftown, the Turtle Clan's Timothy Twoguns and Gary Wheeler and the Bear Clan's Samuel George and Chester Isaac.

The anti-gaming, traditional faction continue to say Halftown was removed and that there are other Council members, including clan mothers Hill, Bear Clan mother Inez Jimerson and Turtle Clan mother Lena Pierce, Twoguns' mother, as well as “faithkeepers” who have the responsibilities to ensure the chief from their clan stays on the right path.

In January 2006, Wheeler and Twoguns joined with the anti-gaming faction in a consensus to remove Halftown.

“Given the recent history of leadership disputes in the Nation, the achievement of this consensus was quite remarkable and underscores the seriousness with which this issue is viewed by all Council members. This consensus was reached because of the magnitude of Mr. Halftown's behavior, which cut the very heart of the Nation's customs and traditions. Specifically, Mr. Halftown has attempted to create a one-person dictatorship,” attorney Joseph Heath wrote on behalf of the anti-gaming Cayugas in 2006 to Franklin Keel, director of the Eastern Region BIA.

But within three months, Wheeler and Twoguns changed their minds.

Karl Hill, the Heron Clan mother's son and the faithkeeper for William Jacobs, said he called Twoguns about their next meeting in the spring of 2006, but Twoguns said he could not make the meeting because he got a job with Halftown, who runs the Cayugas' gas station businesses in Union Springs and Seneca Falls.

A letter written to the Haudenosaunee Environmental Task Force by Halftown confirms Twoguns' employment.

Wheeler did not return Hill's phone calls, Hill said.

The anti-gaming Cayuga question the timing of the switch in positions, and say that it is not a valid position.

French said the switch in positions was an altruistic one with the intent to heal divisions in the tribe.

“They came together as a council and decided to put the past behind them and come together for the benefit of the Nation,” French said.

As for Twoguns and Wheeler's employment status, “The Cayuga Nation does not disclose who works for its businesses,” French said.

In the BIA's most recent decision on the nation's leadership dispute - in May 31, 2006 - it affirmed Halftown as the designated representative.

The anti-gaming Cayugas have argued that Halftown may have used program funds to pay for home improvements on his brother's house and that program funds were placed into a business account, but the BIA's director for its eastern regional office, Franklin Keel, wrote there was no evidence of a financial crisis for the nation. The BIA also said the matter could be referred to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which the anti-gaming Cayugas have not yet made a decision about.

The BIA noted there is no written governmental law in the Cayuga system of governance, and the Cayugas operate under a traditional oral system without a court of law, before concluding it could not act on the question of Halftown's status of federal representative because of the murkiness in tribal law.

“Given the complexity of this situation, the BIA is not inclined to render a decision which calls for the application of established guidelines where none are in evidence to apply. The BIA does not consider it appropriate to discern tribal law in this matter,” Keel wrote.

“Therefore, the BIA shall remain silent on the validity of the Jan. 3, 2006, resolution and the subsequent disavowal of the resolution by Messers. Twoguns and Wheeler.”

With such a decision, the anti-gaming Cayugas feel the BIA is intervening in another nation's affairs.

“The reason I feel it's so important - now - for this to be brought out in the open, we have tried to resolve; we've tried to fix things by ourselves,” Bernadette “Birdie” Hill, the Heron Clan mother, said. “It doesn't seem to be working. We have done what we're supposed to do by using a good mind, trying to bring our nation together as one.”

French said the allegations Halftown was ill and removed in 2004 as a Heron Clan representatives and that tribal program funds were used for personal expenses were “raised, reviewed and rejected by the BIA.”

“It's typical of the nonsensical, disruptive nature of a dissident group. Their claims have been repeatedly rejected by the BIA,” French said.

The BIA has repeatedly encouraged the Cayugas to enter mediation.

But the two groups even disagree about who would be an appropriate mediator.

The anti-gaming group distrusts the BIA and would like to have mediation under the Haudosaunee/Iroquois Great Confederacy or under a non-governmental entity.

But the pro-gaming group says the BIA's mediators are the most appropriate because they provide mediation to tribes across the country.

The anti-gaming faction said they want to participate in council meetings, but their calls are not answered or returned; when they just try to show up, no one will be at the meeting, they said.

French says there's no subterfuge, and the anti-gaming faction simply won't call Sharon LeRoy, the nation's secretary since a 1994 resolution who is also Halftown's mother, to get the information about the meetings because they object to her role.

Jacobs said efforts such as Twoguns' and Wheeler's 2005 election and the pro-gaming focus of the current proposed settlement show a turning-away of the traditional Cayuga way of life.

“Our thought, our goal, in this Nation is always to have chiefs. Some people have lost sight of that. They're on the wrong path,” Jacobs said.

The anti-gaming faction said they know they don't represent all the Cayugas' citizenry, but they believe that there is a silent group that is not speaking out and is worried about the social costs of gaming.

In a 2005 interview, Wheeler said he was pursuing a large-scale gaming opportunity because of the poverty afflicting many of the Cayugas and because of the desires of many tribal members, including some he was said were not being represented with the Heron Clan.

Bernadette “Birdie” Hill, the Heron Clan mother, still believes one Nation is still possible.

“All of us have this faith, this deep faith, we have to keep moving in one direction with a good mind.”

The anti-gaming Cayugas' appeal of the May 2006 BIA decision is still pending within the Department of Interior. French had little doubt the original decision would be upheld.

Timeline

€ May 5, 2003: According to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Chief Vernon Isaac sent a letter outlining the Cayuga Nation Council's decision-making process, including that the Nation's decisions must be committed to writing on Nation letterhead, must be signed by the Nation clerk and must have the Nation seal.

€ July 2003: Vernon Isaac, the Cayuga Nation's last condoled chief, dies.

€ Aug. 11 2003: With Vernon Isaac's death, Clint Halftown is designated as the Cayuga Nation's federal representative, including to be the point person on the tribe's Aid to Tribal Government Contract, which provides some federal funding to the tribe

€ July 2004: According to the anti-gaming faction, Halftown is removed as a Heron Clan seatwarmer, a position held on a temporary basis until a qualified chief candidate can be selected, by Heron Clan Mother Bernadette “Birdie#” Hill. Halftown disputes that this removal was properly conducted.

€ Nov. 18, 2004: Halftown signs a proposed land claim settlement that would give the Cayugas a casino in the Catskills.

€ December 17, 2004: The anti-gaming faction writes to Halftown telling him he was not authorized by the council to sign the agreement.

€ December 31, 2004: Halftown sends a letter saying the Cayuga Nation is withdrawing from the land claim settlement because “it is unwilling to do so if out of state tribes are allowed a presence in New York,” referring to a proposed settlement with the Seneca-Cayuga Tribe of Oklahoma.

€ Feb. 17, 2005: Dan White, acting New York field representative, meets with all the Cayuga Nation parties in Gowanda in order to report on the nation's leadership to Franklin Keel, the director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs' Eastern Region.

€ March 15, 2005: Franklin Keel decides a resolution to remove Halftown put forth by Gary Wheeler and Tim Twoguns is insufficient and that the BIA would continue to recognize Halftown. Keel also decides that it is unclear what defines a consensus decision by the Nation, but he thinks that consensus must involve at least a majority of the Council. “I hope that these differences can be resolved in a peaceful manner by the Nation,” Keel writes.

€ March 17, 2005: Twoguns and Wheeler appeal the decision.

€ March 2005: The U.S. Supreme Court rules that New York tribes' land purchases in their land claims do not automatically become sovereign and are subject to local taxation and regulations. The decision takes the political wind out of the proposed land claim settlement.

€ April 2005: Sam George, a Bear Clan member, and William “Chuck” Jacobs, a Heron Clan member, are “condoled” as the first chiefs since Vernon Isaac's death during a ceremony at Onondaga Nation Territory. The anti-gaming faction says their role will include serving in the Haudenosaunee/Iroquois' 50-member grand council.

€ May 2005: Wheeler and Twoguns send referendum ballots to tribal members seeking approval of an interim council to take the place of the tribe's current traditional government.

€ July 18, 2005: Bureau of Indian Affairs eastern regional director Keel wrote that the recognition of a new provisional council was denied because only two of six Cayuga Nation Council members requested a new form of government and a majority of adult members did not vote in the election. Ninety-six ballots were returned of 348, with 61voting to change the government.

€ June 2005: The U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals dismisses the Cayugas' land claim, which is later upheld by default when the U.S. Supreme Court refuses to hear the case. The tribe also files for its land holdings to be taken into trust.

€ Late 2005: Wheeler and Twoguns begin negotiating with the anti-gaming faction including Bernadette “Birdie” Hill, the Heron Clanmother, William “Chuck” Jacobs, the Heron Clan condoled chief, and Sam George, the Bear Clan condoled chief.

€ January 3, 2006: A council resolution signed by William Jacobs, of the Heron Clan, George, of the Bear Clan, Chester Isaac, of the Bear Clan, Twoguns, of the Turtle Clan, and Wheeler, of the Turtle Clan, says Halftown is no longer the Cayuga Nation federal representative in its “government-to-government relationship with the United States of America.”

€ Feb. 27, 2006: The same group of council members say in another resolution that attorney Dan French and his firm are not authorized to act on he Nation's behalf and in another resolution that Halftown and his mother and the Nation's secretary, Sharon LeRoy, must provide up-to-date contact information for Cayuga Nation citizens and provide what they sent to the Bureau of Indian Affairs about the “customs, laws and traditions of the Cayuga Nation.”

€ March 14-16, 2006: BIA staff conduct a review of the nation's Aid to Tribal Government contract.

€ April 9, 2006: In a letter addressed to Joyce King, director of the Haudenosaunee Environmental Task Force, Halftown wrote that Twoguns is employed by the Cayuga Nation and will be the contact regarding environment issues on Cayuga Nation territory.

€ April 11, 2006: Twoguns and Wheeler write that they withdrew their support to the “purported” council resolutions, including the one saying French's firm does not represent the Nation.

€ May 31, 2006: Keel writes that the BIA will remain silent on the January 2006 resolution and Twoguns' and Wheeler's change-of-mind abut the resolution because it is not appropriate for the BIA to determine tribal law. Keel also wrote there was no evidence unearthed in the March 2006 program review to support discontinuing recognition of Halftown.

€ Dec. 19, 2006: The Environmental Protection Agency decides to continue giving funds to the Cayuga Nation via the Haudenosaunee Environmental Task Force because a 3-3 tie in the council did not meet a simple majority for the required consensus. Earlier in the year, Halftown, Twoguns and Wheeler asked for the environmental funding to go directly to the Nation, instead of through the taskforce. George, Jacobs and Isaac asked for the funding to continue through the task force, which includes members of some other confederacy nations.

€ May 2007: A proposed land claim settlement is announced. Under the proposal, the Cayugas would give up their right to continuously apply to the federal government to take their open market property purchases into trust; to run Class II, or bingo hall gaming, without getting county approval first; and to their claim to their 64,000-acre historic homeland surrounding northern Cayuga Lake that is based on a disputed 1700s-era treaty in return for a state gaming compact for a casino, most likely in the Catskills and up to 10,000 sovereign acres in three clusters.