Families say they will continue fight to keep reservation homes
May 9, 2005, 3:46 PM EDT
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Four Oneida Indian families facing eviction from their reservation homes say they will continue fighting to keep their homes even though the nation's highest court recently refused to hear their appeal.
The dispute revolves around four trailer homes on the Oneida's tribal ancestral land 30 miles east of Syracuse. Nation administrators condemned them in July 2003 as unsafe and ordered them demolished as part of a decade-old tribal housing improvement program.
Some of the roughly 20 affected residents and their supporters claim the demolition order and impending evictions were a way to fight political dissent against Ray Halbritter, the Oneidas' federally recognized leader. The families sought a court order blocking the evictions while they challenged the nation's housing program.
The evictions were upheld by a tribal judge. A federal court judge refused to overturn the evictions, saying he did not have jurisdiction to intervene.
Last year, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City barred the nation from proceeding with the evictions and demolitions until all legal appeals were exhausted.
Nation officials declined to say if they would now proceed with the demolitions following an April 15 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court, which declined, without comment, to hear the case.
The families targeted for eviction include Maisie Shenandoah, Halbritter's 74-year-old aunt, two of Shenandoah's daughters, Diane and Vickie, and their eight children.
Diane Schenandoah said she and the other families intend to remain in their homes.
"This is our aboriginal homeland," Schenandoah said. "We still have our homes and we're not leaving. But I don't know what the future holds."
Donald Daines, the families' attorney, said he was still pursuing an appeal with the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs to have Halbritter removed from power.
Information from: The Syracuse Post-Standard, www.syracuse.com
Copyright 2005 Newsday Inc.
May Reports
Last updated on May 28, 2005