New York State Hands Over 1,000 Acres to Native American Tribe

After destroying wildlife and poisoning the water of their ancestral homeland, New York is handing it back over to Indigenous Peoples to fix.

Governor Kathy Hochul announced on Wednesday that more than 1,000 acres of land have been transferred back to the Onondaga Nation. This is the largest transfer of land ever made by any state to Native Americans.

While this may seem like a noble act, the land is only being returned after being poisoned with mercury and polluted with chemicals.

Destroyed New York Land Being Handed Over to Onondaga Nation

According to a press release from Governor Hochul, funding for the return of 1,000 acres in Central New York’s Tully Valley has come from a legal settlement. Honeywell admitted to dumping mercury and other hazardous chemicals into Onondaga Lake and surrounding areas that are considered sacred by the Onondaga Nation.

According to the terms of the Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration project and assessments from the DEC and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, waterfowl, turtles and public resources have been severely impacted by chemicals released into the environment. As a result, New  York has agreed to return the land to the Onondaga Nation and work with them to restore the natural resources.

This begs the question of whether New York State would have even considered returning such a large parcel of land if it was still in pristine condition. It's hard to imagine the government agreeing to return an area that could be a popular fishing site with beautiful hiking trails out of the goodness of its heart.

Regardless of the reason, Onondaga Tadodaho (chief) Sid Hill was gracious in accepting the return of his people's ancestral land but also reminded New York that it's only a small portion of the 2.5 million acres of "treaty guaranteed land" that had been taken from the Onondaga Nation over the centuries.

This is a small but important step for us, and for the Indigenous land back movement across the United States

Hill says his people plan to "protect, restore, heal, and caretake the property in accordance with Indigenous Knowledge; Onondaga cultural, spiritual, and educational practices; and science."

The legal settlement with Honeywell will help financially support the restoration project.