An international commission has upheld the Onondaga Nation's right to pursue claims against the United States and New York State for unjustly taking Indigenous lands two centuries ago. The illegal takings reduced the land size from 2.5 million acres to its current 7,500 acres.
Onondaga Nation General Counsel Joe Heath said in 2014 the nation continued its efforts to regain the land after American courts dismissed the land rights action taken in 2005. Last month, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights ruled the case could proceed with the United States defending against the human rights violations the Onondaga Nation alleged.
"Taking the land illegally, or allowing it to be taken illegally from 1780s to the 1820s," Heath said. "For the environmental destruction of the land and for a court system that has absolutely no remedies for treaty violations."
Prior to colonialism, the Onondaga land ran from the 1000 islands, down the eastern shore of Lake Ontario, through central New York and down into the Southern Tier.
Heath said the ultimate objective is to get the land back saying the Onondaga Nation has not had a meaningful discussion with the Federal or State government for more than 30 years. He says they feel ignored — especially on environmental matters like pollution in Onondaga Lake.
"The fish are completely inedible," Heath said. "That needs to be addressed. There's so much of the environmental damage that's going on right now. There is no way for the Onondaga people to safely fish on their own territory."
Heath said this is only the second case they know of by nations within the United States to have gotten this far.
"When we get the ruling that we feel proper under international law," said Heath, "it will be a significant accomplishment for the Onondaga Nation, but also for all indigenous nations and all of the millions or billions of acres that have been taken from them. Perhaps we could then move together in a more respectful cooperative way."
And although Heath said the United States stressed it won't accept the jurisdiction of the commission, he views the decision as a significant moral victory.
