|
Land Claim
News Haudenosaunee Land Claim
|
||
| Page 5 Haudenosaunee Land Claim
|
Fall 1999 |
|
| government as well as exclusive
jurisdiction over their territories.
2) What is the Moral Basis of the Land Claim? The State of New York knowingly violated federal law that resulted in the illegal and immoral dispossession of our lands. New York orchestrated a grand plan to remove the Haudenosaunee fraud serving as the primary tool in their plan. For over two hundred years New York State has refused to rectify the situation. The Haudenosaunee were forced to launch a series of land claims in order to achieve the justice we deserve. The moral basis for the claim is simple: justice must prevail for all. The time has come for the Haudenosaunee, the United States and the State of New York to correct a historical injustice and to resolve the longstanding problems of land tenure quickly and fairly. The claims have gone on for far too long and neither the Indian Nation or present-day occupants deserve to have these issues drag on. The cultural basis for the land claims stems from the role of land as part of our national cultural patrimony, belonging to all of the people, across all of the generations. Land is essential to our identity. The Haudenosaunee, as the original possessors of this land, have the right to a decent and productive life with adequate food, shelter, medical care and other necessities. Forced relocation weakened the cultural fabric that united the people and provided them with a way to face their problems on their own terms. Land is the essential ingredient from which the very identity of the people is derived. The removal of the Haudenosaunee from our ancestral lands has seriously disrupted and caused harm to our traditional way of life. This loss has resulted in much suffering and deprivation for the people. The Haudenosaunee lost most access to our sacred sites, the burial places of our ancestors, and traditional patterns of hunting, fishing and gathering. The loss of land contributed to the break |
up of clans, families, social,
cultural, spiritual and political order within our unique society. The
loss of land has depleted our sense of place and the source of our
strength. The nation continues to suffer from the breakdown of the
fundamental values and beliefs upon which the Haudenosaunee culture was
based. The loss of access to ancestral lands has denied the Haudenosaunee
the medicinal plants, animals and spirits associated with their home
lands. Through the land claim we seek to reconnect people to the spiritual
power of the land.
3) What Role do the Treaties Play in the Land Claims? The federally - approved treaties are the supreme law of the land. The Constitution of the United States defines the status of treaties and the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled many times that Indian treaties are still valid. The Haudenosaunee treaties were among the first made by the new United States and they have withstood the test of time. The Canandaigua Treaty of 1794 was legally approved by Congress and is a binding agreement upon the country. Remember, the treaties and the promises made by George Washington and other federal officials were in exchange for peace and friendship and other advantages offered by the Indian Nations. The Indian Nations have kept these promises and abided by these treaties. The United States and New York State have benefited enormously from these treaties. It is only fair that the United States carry out the legal obligations and promises made in these treaties. 4) Weren't the Indian Nations Conquered? Neither the United. States nor the State of New York can correctly claim a "right of conquest" with regard to the Haudenosaunee. The United States has never attempted to argue that the Haudenosaunee were conquered, nor has it ever tried to claim any of the Haudenosaunee lands by right of conquest. During the American |
|
