{"id":671,"date":"2022-09-01T20:41:00","date_gmt":"2022-09-01T20:41:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/clients.elainemichele.com\/SPC2022\/?p=671"},"modified":"2022-10-30T20:47:33","modified_gmt":"2022-10-30T20:47:33","slug":"september-2022-gayogo%cc%b1ho%ea%9e%89n%c7%ab%ca%bc-background","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/clients.elainemichele.com\/SPC2022\/2022\/09\/01\/september-2022-gayogo%cc%b1ho%ea%9e%89n%c7%ab%ca%bc-background\/","title":{"rendered":"September 2022 Gayogo\u0331h\u00f3\ua789n\u01eb\u02bc Background"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Neighbors<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Gayogo\u0331h\u00f3\ua789n\u01eb\u02bc Background<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It is painful to watch homes, businesses, schools, and ceremonial venues destroyed; elders abused; children frightened and traumatized. Gayogo\u0331h\u00f3\ua789n\u01eb\u02bc (Cayuga) people in their traditional territory, North in Six Nations, and West in Seneca Territory are affected by this conflict and violence. The ongoing crisis situation affecting the traditional Gayogo\u0331h\u00f3\ua789n\u01eb\u02bc in Seneca County, NY (West of Onondaga Nation and the city of Syracuse), has a long and complicated history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Two Row Wampum Treaty, made between the Dutch and the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, stipulated that European People and the People of Turtle Island would each conduct their own internal affairs and not interfere with each other\u2019s governance and decision-making process. This treaty (and all others) has not been upheld by the US.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Native communities were confined in reservations and the 1924 Citizenship Act attempted to solidify Native Peoples\u2019 status as dependents. The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) was established in 1824 by the US Secretary of War, and was originally housed within the War Department. Tasked with mediating the relationship between the US government and Native Nations, the BIA has a sordid history. The agency has long pursued policies and practices that harm Indigenous peoples and encroach on tribal sovereignty; even the BIA\u2019s own website acknowledges as much. Yet, per the US constitution, treaties remain the \u201csupreme Law of the Land,\u201d and provide the foundation of Indigenous-US federal interactions. The 1794 Treaty of Canandaigua, for instance, promises Haudenosaunee Nations the \u201cfree use and enjoyment\u201d of their recognized territories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gayogo\u0331h\u00f3\ua789n\u01eb\u02bc land was illegally purchased from individual Gayogo\u0331h\u00f3\ua789n\u01eb\u02bc citizens who did not have the requisite authority to sell land after the American Revolutionary War; not to mention New York State did not have the authority under US law to purchase the land. The Gayogo\u0331h\u00f3\ua789n\u01eb\u02bc began to return and obtain land approximately 20 years ago, after 200 years of separation from their traditional territory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Haudenosaunee governance protocols and practices outlined in the Great Law of Peace, Chiefs hold authority bestowed by Clan Mothers. Clan Mothers are also responsible for the land and all land is communally held. There are no individual deeds. Clan Mothers are selected by the members of each Clan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The crisis in Gayogo\u0331h\u00f3\ua789n\u01eb\u02bc traditional territory is due to the BIA\u2019s extremely questionable recognition of a federal representative who is not recognized by the traditional leadership of Chiefs and Clan Mothers. The leadership dispute began when Clint Halftown served as the \u201ceyes and ears\u201d of Chief Vernon Isaac, until Isaac\u2019s death in 2003. Up to that time, Halftown attended meetings and reported back to Isaac. After Isaac passed, the Council of Chiefs appointed Halftown only as the temporary federal representative, meaning he could receive funds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A year later, Clan Mothers installed new chiefs to replace Halftown. However, Halftown refused to cooperate and did not relinquish his position. The Council of Chiefs and Clan Mothers have repeatedly and publicly rejected Halftown\u2019s claim to leadership. Franklin Keel, then Eastern Regional Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, endorsed a Cayuga Nation Council resolution to remove Clint Halftown as leader in 2011.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, Halftown was recognized by the new BIA Eastern Regional Director Bruce Maytubby in December 2016 after a corrupt and collusive year, in which Maytubby met secretly and repeatedly with Halftown. However, he acknowledged that Clan Mothers bear responsibility for appointing leaders, according to Haudenosaunee tradition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Council of Chiefs have used all avenues of legal recourse that are available to them. There have been multiple applications to BIA, Interior Board of Indian Appeals, and the Assistant Secretary from 2005 to 2017. A 2017 federal court action challenged Maytubby’s recognition of Clint Halftown as the \u201cfederal representative\u201d of the Nation. It was dismissed because the court gave deference to the BIA\u2019s supposed \u201cexpertise\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2018, after tensions began to escalate, the Halftown Council formed the Cayuga Nation Police to help enforce Halftown\u2019s decisions; CNP has been responsible for injuries to citizens and harassment of families. Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Tara Sweeney wrote a letter in November 2019 stating that the US Department of Interior (and BIA) considers the Halftown Council to be the leadership of Cayuga Nation for all purposes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With this cover from the federal bureaucrats who created their regime, in February 2020 the Halftown Council brought in bulldozers to destroy a daycare center, store, schoolhouse, and other buildings. The traditional Gayogo\u0331h\u00f3\ua789n\u01eb\u02bc lost resources and were forced to find new locations to continue teaching their traditions and language. Later that year, Gakwiyo Provisions, which provided food for the community, was also demolished. Since then, the Halftown Council continues attempts to evict traditional citizens from homes using an unaccountable \u201ctribal\u201d court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In early August 2022, the Halftown Council again ordered the destruction of an occupied vintage farmhouse and a barn used for ceremonies, injuring an elder and dumping rematriated white corn on the ground. Allies have again come together as they did in 2020 to support the traditional community with mutual aid. They have also volunteered to camp outside homes to prevent further destruction and provide a sense of safety for the traditional citizens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Council of Chiefs and Clan Mothers have drawn support from 4 municipalities- Enfield, Dryden, Ithaca, Interlaken; as well as from Seneca County, Tompkins County, the Cornell Student Assembly, and Anna Kelles (State Assemblyperson). These resolutions (pushed for by US citizens) condemn the actions of Halftown, express concern for the safety and well-being of traditional citizens, and urge the BIA to cease recognizing Halftown and acknowledge the Council of Chiefs and Clan Mothers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Legal counsel has filed a petition with the Department of Interior to review the Sweeney letter and a supplement will be filed shortly to urge roll-back of the Sweeney letter. The BIA has thus far not been responsive to requests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is no moral justification for the Halftown Council’s egregious actions towards their own relatives. These acts of terror against his own citizens provide categorical proof that Halftown has completely abandoned the governing principles of compassion and justice deeply embedded in the Great Law of Peace. We hope that the support of allied actions of US citizens and legal representation of the Council of Chiefs will force the BIA to recognize and honor their obligations to the traditional Gayogo\u0331h\u00f3\ua789n\u01eb\u02bc community in Seneca County and stop Halftown\u2019s consolidation of power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This Article was prepared in consultation with Joe Heath, Gayogo\u0331h\u00f3\ua789n\u01eb\u02bc legal council, and Gayogo\u0331h\u00f3\ua789n\u01eb\u02bc leaders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Restore Our Sacred Lake 5k Run\/Walk, Saturday, September 17, 2022<\/a><\/blockquote>