Spencer, Karen L.

On March 11, 2005 the Onondaga Nation filed a federal court action in the Northern District of New York seeking a declaratory judgment that they hold title to their aboriginal territory in central New York State stretching from Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River to Pennsylvania. The case, Onondaga Nation v. New York, et al, 05-CV-0314 , does not seek eviction of landholders or damages but a declaration that New York illegally took the land from the Onondagas in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The Onondaga's expressed motivation is to participate in and encourage full environmental clean-up of Onondaga Lake and the surrounding area.