Legal victory for Seneca Nation in Thruway land dispute

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — The Seneca Nation recently received a legal victory in its ongoing land dispute with New York State and the New York State Thruway Authority.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael Roemer issued a recommendation to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York in favor of the Seneca Nation, saying that New York State “violated federal law when it attempted to obtain a right-of-way in 1954 without federal approval.” He also recommended the court to declare the previous judgment used by the state to construct the thruway on Seneca Nation lands to be void, and to order the state and Seneca Nation to negotiate terms on a new agreement.

“With each day that passes and each vehicle that travels the Thruway through Seneca Territory, the State benefits from the illegal use of our land, while the Nation has been denied the full use of our Cattaraugus Territory,” Seneca Nation President J. Conrad Seneca said in a statement. “We will not stop pursuing a path to justice and a fair, equitable and legal solution that finally addresses this situation we have been forced to live with for the last 70 years. We hope the District Court accepts Judge Roemer’s recommendation and forces an end to New York State’s longstanding injustice against the Seneca Nation.”

The Treaty of Canandaigua from 1794 guarantees the Seneca Nation “free use and enjoyment” of its lands. The Seneca Nation has been pursuing this issue for over 30 years.

The Seneca Nation’s current lawsuit was first filed in 2018.

“Judge Roemer’s report is clear — the State of New York continues to operate and profit from a thruway that it never had proper authorization to build on our territory,” Seneca said in a statement. “It is beyond time for State officials to engage the Seneca Nation in meaningful negotiations to account for the State’s violation of our treaty rights, its ongoing violation of federal law, and its illegal use of our land.”