Onondaga Nation Take Centuries-Old Land Rights Case To International Panel

"ONONDAGA NATION TERRITORY — The Onondaga Nation has protested for centuries that illegal land grabs shrank its territory from what was once thousands of square miles in upstate New York to a relatively paltry patch of land south of Syracuse.

It took its case to President George Washington, to Congress and, more recently, to a U.S. court.

All failed.

So now the nation is presenting its case to an international panel. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights recently allowed the Onondagas to pursue claims their land was taken unjustly by New York state, providing a unique venue for a land rights case against the United States by a Native American nation."

Michael Hill reports for the Associated Press September 30, 2023.