Onondaga Nation Land Claim Records
The Onondaga Nation Land Claims Collection
The collection includes official court filings, historical and legal experts' reports and maps, a transcript of oral argument, and background research materials prepared during the ongoing litigation. Also included is related information collected by the processor, Karen L. Spencer, the Archives and Special Collections Librarian in the Charles B. Sears Law Library.
For more information, consult the finding aid.
On March 11, 2005 the Onondaga Nation filed a federal court action in the Northern District of New York seeking a declaratory judgment that they hold title to their aboriginal territory in central New York State stretching from Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River to Pennsylvania. The case, Onondaga Nation v. New York, et al, 05-CV-0314 , does not seek eviction of landholders or damages but a declaration that New York illegally took the land from the Onondagas in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The Onondaga's expressed motivation is to participate in and encourage full environmental clean-up of Onondaga Lake and the surrounding area.
The defendants are the State of New York, the Governor, Onondaga County, the City of Syracuse, Honeywell International, Inc., Trigen Syracuse Energy Corp., Clark Concrete Co., Inc., Valley Realty Development Co., Inc., and Hanson Aggregates North America.
Oral argument on the defendants' motion to dismiss was heard on October 11, 2007.