The Onondaga Nation should be able to reclaim recognition of its original territory because it is believed the land was taken away illegally.

On Tuesday, the Onondaga Nation will protest at the White House in an attempt to get legal recognition of land that it considers unlawfully taken from 1790 to 1822. The land encompasses more than 4,000 miles, including regions stretching from Ithaca, to Binghamton, with Syracuse in the geographical center.

The nation is not looking to reclaim control of this land, but seek recognition to have their opinions heard regarding Onondaga Lake, said Joseph Heath, the nation’s general consul. He added that the nation considers the lake sacred, and has been very upset with its severe pollution.

In 2005, Onondaga Nation filed a Land Rights Action in federal court, which was then rejected in 2010 because of how much time has passed since the land was first taken.

Because the Onondaga Nation is not seeking major control of the territory, and only seeking recognition that the land was originally theirs, using the amount of time that’s passed as a defense against the Onondaga Nation’s requests is unjust.

While the courts may be able to argue that the nation is very far removed from regions it seeks to reclaim, they cannot make that same argument for Onondaga Lake. The lake has been considered sacred for hundreds of years and continues to be highly valued by the Onondaga Nation. When the New York state government proposed building an amphitheater on the lake without consulting any citizens of the Onondaga Nation, it raised a lot of concerns, Heath said.

The Onondaga Nation tries to work with New York state on these matters, but the governor has ignored the requests, Heath added. This is very different from the Onondaga County legislature, which has had a very beneficial relationship with the nation, he said.

Regardless of whether the land is recognized as original territory of the Onondaga Nation, there needs to a stronger relationship between the state and its indigenous people. The lake was a sacred part of Onondaga Nation’s culture long before the colonists arrived, and should be respected as such.

Published on April 15, 2014 at 1:00 am