Nya:węh swagwé:gǫh- Thank you for being well.The Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫʼ (Cayuga) Nation is a member of the Hodihnǫ̱hsǫ́:nih (Haudenosaunee) Confederacy. The Council of Chiefs and Clan Mothers seek to ensure the future of the community of traditional citizens in our unceded territory near Cayuga Lake.Nya:węh go:wah (thank you greatly) to all our relatives and friends for your continued support.

New York State and the US Bureau of Indian Affairs do not respect Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫʼ (Cayuga) Nation sovereignty and our right to self-determination as an Indigenous People. Their inaction interferes with our People's rematriation efforts.A community of our Nation's traditional citizens lives near Cayuga Lake in a “reservation area” defined in the 1794 Treaty of Canandaigua (Ganondagan), and use legal means to defend Indigenous responsibilities and rights there. Our People continue to struggle for fulfillment of treaty obligations, and the security of cultural and governmental freedom.

Why do Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫʼ people have to re-establish a community in unceded territory?Our People and communities flourished until the American Revolutionary War. Although the Nation remained neutral, the Continental Army targeted many communities. Villages were destroyed and orchards burned during the 1779 “Scorched Earth” campaign. This was an act of attempted genocide during which soldiers violently attacked over 40 villages along the shores of Cayuga Lake, including Goiogouen (Cayuga Castle)- a major village with hundreds of acres of vegetable gardens and fruit orchards. The soldiers destroyed entire communities, the gardens, winter crop stores, and the orchards. In nearby Chonodote (Peachtown), 1,500 peach trees were killed. Our ancestors fled for their lives to neighboring Haudenosaunee territories.Other Confederacy Nations faced similar military attacks. Many ǫgwehǫ:weh now live in Ohswé:gęˀ (Six Nations of the Grand River reserve) North of the Canada/US border and some went West and established various communities. After many of our ancestors were violently expelled from unceded territory across what is known as New York State, the land was dispersed in parcels to American soldiers.------------------------------------
Is the community near Cayuga Lake under threat now?Yes. Due to the unjust and oppressive complexities caused by colonialism, and the illicit BIA selection of a "Federal Representative" who acts as a tyrant, numerous families in the traditional territory experience ongoing attacks- both physcally violent and financial- and harassment.

The Six Nations of the Hodihnǫ̱hsǫ́:nih (Haudenosaunee) Confederacy relate to the US as sovereign Nations, and we have a long history of creating and maintaining treaty agreements embodied as wampum belts. The 1st treaty that the Confederacy entered into with Europeans was the Tow-Row, with the Dutch.In 1779, the Continental Army, at the direction of George Washington, attacked villages and destroyed orchards and gardens during the Scorched Earth (Sullivan-Clinton) campaign.In 1794, it appeared that the wrongful taking of land would be made right. The Treaty of Canandaigua was formed between Chiefs of the Confederacy Nations and the United States of America. This treaty affirmed the Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫʼ’s rightful reservation as 64,015 acres of sovereign land. Unfortunately, the Treaty was ignored by New York State and this land was not returned.However, the US government still provides treaty cloth to the six Nations each year: its delivery confirms that the US understands that they have other treaty responsibilities. The guarantee of an annual gift of cloth was included in the Treaty, agreed into on November 11, 1794 in Ganondagan (Canandaigua), Seneca territory, where a group of fifty chiefs negotiated with Timothy Pickering representing President George Washington. This treaty established “peace and friendship” between the US and the Six Nations of the Confederacy, and a US promise to never seize or disturb native lands.

Traditional ecological knowledge passed from generation to generation gave our People a long-standing reputation as excellent tenders of fruit orchards and agricultural crops. The traditional community has been using these skills on the homelands since returning decades ago. Seeds have been rematriated, descended from seeds saved by Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫʼ who went north across the river to the Six Nations community during and after the Scorched Earth campaign.Peach trees and gardens have been planted at the Cayuga SHARE Farm, which continues to be kept as a community gathering place. The Cayuga SHARE Farm is near Goyogouen (Cayuga Castle, the largest Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫʼ community) and Great Gully, an especially sacred place that served as a refuge for those escaping from the Continenal Army.

What do educational opportunities mean for our communities as Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫʼ People?Language- Our language learners and teachers have revitalized the Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫʼ language. Ganǫ́hǫnyǫhk (The Thanksgiving Address) is a greeting which honors the people, land, waters, earth, plants, animals, and all beings. It is spoken in the Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫʼ language at the beginning of gatherings and demonstrates our values of reciprocity and gratitude.Cultural Values- We teach our children to consider the generations of faces yet to come; care for the earth, water, and all beings; strive to keep a Good Mind; follow the Great Law of Peace, and practice diplomacy with neighbors.Traditional Governance- Coming together on ancestral homelands supports democratic governance practiced for time immemorial. This includes the raising-up of Chiefs and Clan Mothers, opportunity for Longhouse establishment, and keeping our responsibilities to care for the people and all beings.

The traditional community of Cayuga Nation citizens near Cayuga Lake continues to face multiple, ongoing threats to housing and financial security through attempted lawsuits, evictions, home raids, and housing demolitions. The BIA's "Federal Representative" for the Cayuga Nation continues attempts to impoverish and forcibly remove his own people from their homes and community.The Council of Chiefs and Clan Mothers have repeatedly stated that the BIA-chosen representative is illegitimate, but this person is still recognized by the US federal government.

Today, NY State’s intermediate Appellate Court, Fourth Department, affirmed a series of lower court rulings from Seneca County which establish that the new “Cayuga Nation Tribal Court” of the Clint Halftown government does not follow due process, and that its rulings are not worthy of honoring in state court.

Since Halftown’s court was established, the only cases it has handled are by his regime against individual Cayuga Nation citizens; and every decision in every case has been in favor of Halftown’s interests and against the citizens. “He targets these families because they speak out and oppose his regime. These are not the only attacks,” said Sachem Sam George, a condoled Cayuga (Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫʼ) Chief. “With no hearing, due process, or notice, many learned they were “not in good standing”, which isn’t even defined. Enrolled citizens have been denied distribution checks, $5,000 Covid-relief aid, and any say or role in the Nation’s new “government”. All these actions demonstrate its illegitimacy.”

For decades, the traditional community has continued their rematriation journey in the face of obstacles and attacks. Through all of this, friends, neighbors, and relatives have joined together to organize; fundraise for community supplies, mutual aid, to save the SHARE Farm etc.; and witnessed the struggle for sovereignty recognition. Nyaweh gowah (big thank you) to all of the friends who come together to support the Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫʼ (Cayuga) Nation.

“Clint uses the same tactics used during the US Sullivan-Clinton campaign to try to eliminate the traditional citizens who do not acknowledge his leadership,” comments Steve Jacobs, Bear Clan Sachem. “He destroyed food stores, corn and beans. Halftown’s faction does not respect the Great Law of Peace or traditional practices. They use harassment, physical assault, and economic warfare and kidnapped Gayogohó:nǫ˺ to be imprisoned across state lines in Pennsylvania.”

It is traumatic for all Gayogohó:nǫ˺, wherever they live, to witness the continuing acts of deliberate violence which Clint Halftown orders against the Gayogohó:nǫ˺ traditional community in Seneca Falls, NY. The latest series of attacks has gone further than ever in viciousness and disregard of human life. Cayuga Nation Police (CNP, the Halftown Council’s non-Native mercenaries) “arrested” four Gayogohó:nǫ˺ people in the recent weeks. One of these was Jason John, a recent amputee and diabetic, who was detained August 28th of this year and taken to Cambria County Jail in Ebensburg, PA. On September 3rd, CNP arrested three others, including a physically disabled elder, and tasered another. Two were transported to the same jail and are held without bail. Previously CNP had arrested and taken another Gayogohó:nǫ˺ individual to Cambria; this person was Jason’s cellmate and witnessed the jail’s life-threatening treatment of Jason, including the withholding of prescription diabetes medication.

The Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫ' Chiefs have informed the Bureau of Indian Affairs numerous times over the past decade-plus that Clint Halftown and the Halftown Council have been properly removed from any and all leadership positions (pursuant to their centuries-old dispute resolution mechanisms), including during the time prior to Mr. Halftown’s recognition as the federal representative. The chiefs have repeatedly and publicly stated that Mr. Halftown and the Halftown Council have no authority to communicate or interact with the United States on behalf of the Cayuga Nation. Nevertheless, the Bureau of Indian Affairs continues to stand idle while these attacks on Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫ' people persist.

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