St. Regis Mohawk tribe suing Franklin County
By JESSICA COLLIER, Enterprise Staff WriterMALONE - Franklin County and Gov. David Paterson are being sued in federal court by the St. Regis Mohawk tribe because, the tribe says, they are exercising illegal jurisdiction over it.
"For the county to attempt to impose property taxes, building codes, business law within any reservation is prohibited by federal law," said David Staddon, director of public information for the tribe.
The piece of land at issue is the Hogansburg Triangle, which the state and county have long considered to be outside of the reservation, according to court papers.
"The state and county have sought to vigorously enforce their civil laws against the Tribe and its members who live and work in the Hogansburg Triangle," reads the complaint.
It states that Franklin County has claimed the authority to impose real property taxes on all land owned by the Tribe or tribal members within the triangle, local governments in the county have attempted to apply local building codes there, and the state has actively imposed licensing laws on business there.
The tribe, however, believes the triangle remains a part of the reservation and has been since a treaty was passed in 1796 designating the land to the Mohawks, Staddon said. It would take an act of Congress to alter those boundaries, and such an act has never been passed, he said.
Staddon said the tribe wants a judge to declare that the boundaries were never changed, so the Hogansburg Triangle remains a part of the Akwasasne reservation. This would mean the state and county would not have jurisdiction over the land; it would only be subject to federal jurisdiction.
County Attorney Jonathan Miller said he was not aware of the suit Tuesday, and did not respond to a phone message left for him Wednesday.
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Nathan
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08-14-09 11:40 AM
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UPeopleRNutz: We're not talking about the Seneca's, are we? I don't need to read anything more. My point is what it is - the Mohawks are sovereign. Period.
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FishCric
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08-13-09 9:50 PM
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The difference between a modern white man and the Indians is the Indians are still willing to shed blood for whats theirs. As a rule our modern society is gutlass. I think Jefferson said that the blood of freedom gets watered down periodically and needs new blood now and then to sustain it. :)
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UPeopleRNutz
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08-13-09 9:19 PM
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Nathan: Since you are correcting everyone else, here is one for you. Not all Native American reservations are 'sovereign territory'. For example, the Mohawks are sovereign by a ruling of the Court. The Seneca are not, again by a ruling of the Court. The reason? The Mohawk have never given up the legal claim of sovereignty since the birth of America. Perhaps you might also wish to read the Jay Treaty.
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taternoggins
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08-13-09 6:45 PM
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it's only a matter of time and obama will have the government running the reservations too.
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Whips6
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08-13-09 6:41 PM
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Why is it that the tribe thinks it is ok to tell the state you can't have any say about how the res. is run, but in the same breath demand repairs to highways, asking for state aid for tribal use, ands demand the protection of the state police when ever it suits them. As for the county, how many on the res,are gett welfare help, or heap from Franklin county,and wnt the county to jump at every pot hole on side roads there. All I can say is noe ONE person on that res. was a live 200 or even 100 years ago to have land taken from them. I have had my fill of all the pity the poor minority crap I can take, If you don't want to be part of this country, then build a****wall around the res. and support your own ass. Then you can pay export and import taxes for every thing you need, without useing our taxes to do it.
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Nathan
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08-13-09 6:35 PM
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concerned: You pay taxes because you live in New York State and in the USA. Reservations are not a part of NYS, legally speaking, and because reservations are considered sovereign territories the people that reside there don't have to pay taxes. It is up to the Mohawk Council to decide on taxing their citizens - or not to.
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Nathan
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08-13-09 6:32 PM
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vendor: Someone that is going to throw around words like 'ignorant' should know that 'criticize' is spelled with a 'z'. And while we're on the subject, you should also remember that criticizing government is something that our forefathers allowed when they drafted the Constitution.
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paul12946
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08-13-09 6:27 PM
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If it is there land by by the terms of the treaty, leave them alone . i do wonder about how the taxes work though .I bet it is a real mess.
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vendor
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08-13-09 6:06 PM
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Nathan, your ignorant present-ism is disappointing. It's easy to criticise your fore fathers, when everything has been handed to you. I am sure you feel guilt but get over it.
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concerned
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08-13-09 4:33 PM
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i pay taxes, so should they
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Nathan
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08-13-09 12:09 PM
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This is great... What they're talking about is such a small piece of land, in the big scheme of things, that the county and the state are ridiculous to bother them over it. We raped them of a continent, now we're going to squabble with them over a little land? Get real!
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Jundokanarts
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08-13-09 10:35 AM
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Good Fore them. They should have called it caucasian giver.
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