1. Is there a leadership dispute within the Cayuga Nation?
There is no leadership dispute within the Cayuga Nation. Following a nationwide survey in 2016, more than 60 percent of all Cayuga Nation adults gave their explicit support to the Halftown Council and its proposed governance laws to resolve future leadership disputes. The self-proclaimed “traditionalists” participated in the campaign of support and lost. Clint Halftown’s role as the Cayuga Nation’s federal representative remains undisputed.
2. Does the U.S. Department of the Interior/Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) have a role in determining leadership of the Nation?
No. The BIA has no role in the Nation’s leadership process. Leadership is determined according the Nation’s citizens and laws.
3. Is the Cayuga Nation sovereign?
The Cayuga Nation is a sovereign Indian nation and is recognized as such by the U.S. Government. The Nation continues to fight to have its fee-owned lands within the reservation held in trust by the U.S. government, but the lack of trust lands does not affect the Nation’s sovereign authority over its reservation.
4. What is the status of the Cayuga Nation’s reservation?
In the 1794 Treaty of Canandaigua, the federal government recognized a 64,015-acre reservation for the Nation— located in what today are Seneca and Cayuga counties in the State of New York. Reservations are established by Act or Treaty and can only be disestablished by an Act of Congress, which has not taken place.
5. Does the Cayuga Nation need trust land to exercise sovereign jurisdiction?
No. The Nation continues to fight to have its fee-owned lands within the reservation held in trust by the U.S. government, but the lack of trust lands does not affect the Nation’s sovereign authority over its reservation.
6. What is the authority of the Cayuga Nation Police?
Like other sovereign Native American nations, the Cayuga Nation has full authority to enforce its laws against Native Americans within the boundaries of its reservation. In 2018, the Cayuga Nation established a professional police force whose authority was recognized and reaffirmed by the BIA in 2019. On reservation lands, the Cayuga Nation Police is the principal entity charged with law enforcement and interacts with other law enforcement agencies on a government-to-government basis. In a recent decision, the U.S. Supreme Court reaffirmed the authority of Indian Nation law enforcement agencies to investigate and detain non-natives based on reasonable suspicion of a violation of U.S. and state criminal laws.
7. Who are the “traditionalists” within the Cayuga Nation?
The term “traditional” does not have an exact definition within the Native American community. Some Cayuga Nation members may individually identify as traditionalists, but this term does not apply to any specific cultural expectations. The Halftown Council has supported, and continues to support, a number of important initiatives to teach and promote traditional Cayuga Nation culture.
For questions or concerns, please submit a contact form on our Contact Us page.
There is no leadership dispute within the Cayuga Nation. Following a nationwide survey in 2016, more than 60 percent of all Cayuga Nation adults gave their explicit support to the Halftown Council and its proposed governance laws to resolve future leadership disputes. The self-proclaimed “traditionalists” participated in the campaign of support and lost. Clint Halftown’s role as the Cayuga Nation’s federal representative remains undisputed.
2. Does the U.S. Department of the Interior/Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) have a role in determining leadership of the Nation?
No. The BIA has no role in the Nation’s leadership process. Leadership is determined according the Nation’s citizens and laws.
3. Is the Cayuga Nation sovereign?
The Cayuga Nation is a sovereign Indian nation and is recognized as such by the U.S. Government. The Nation continues to fight to have its fee-owned lands within the reservation held in trust by the U.S. government, but the lack of trust lands does not affect the Nation’s sovereign authority over its reservation.
4. What is the status of the Cayuga Nation’s reservation?
In the 1794 Treaty of Canandaigua, the federal government recognized a 64,015-acre reservation for the Nation— located in what today are Seneca and Cayuga counties in the State of New York. Reservations are established by Act or Treaty and can only be disestablished by an Act of Congress, which has not taken place.
5. Does the Cayuga Nation need trust land to exercise sovereign jurisdiction?
No. The Nation continues to fight to have its fee-owned lands within the reservation held in trust by the U.S. government, but the lack of trust lands does not affect the Nation’s sovereign authority over its reservation.
6. What is the authority of the Cayuga Nation Police?
Like other sovereign Native American nations, the Cayuga Nation has full authority to enforce its laws against Native Americans within the boundaries of its reservation. In 2018, the Cayuga Nation established a professional police force whose authority was recognized and reaffirmed by the BIA in 2019. On reservation lands, the Cayuga Nation Police is the principal entity charged with law enforcement and interacts with other law enforcement agencies on a government-to-government basis. In a recent decision, the U.S. Supreme Court reaffirmed the authority of Indian Nation law enforcement agencies to investigate and detain non-natives based on reasonable suspicion of a violation of U.S. and state criminal laws.
7. Who are the “traditionalists” within the Cayuga Nation?
The term “traditional” does not have an exact definition within the Native American community. Some Cayuga Nation members may individually identify as traditionalists, but this term does not apply to any specific cultural expectations. The Halftown Council has supported, and continues to support, a number of important initiatives to teach and promote traditional Cayuga Nation culture.
For questions or concerns, please submit a contact form on our Contact Us page.