Buffalo Law Review Volume 46 Number 3 Symposium on Law, Sovereignty and Article 7 Tribal Governance: The Iroquois Confederacy 10-1-1998 Seneca Nation of Indians v. Christy: A Background Study Laurence M. Hauptman State University of New York at New Paltz Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.law.buffalo.edu/buffalolawreview Part of the Indian and Aboriginal Law Commons Recommended Citation Laurence M. Hauptman, Seneca Nation of Indians v. Christy: A Background Study, 46 Buff. L. Rev. 947 (1998). Available at: https://digitalcommons.law.buffalo.edu/buffalolawreview/vol46/iss3/7 This Symposium Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Law Journals at Digital Commons @ University at Buffalo School of Law. It has been accepted for inclusion in Buffalo Law Review by an authorized editor of Digital Commons @ University at Buffalo School of Law. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. Seneca Nation of Indians v. Christy: A Background Study LAURENCE M. HAUPTMANt The decision is one of local, state, and national importance alike... If the claim of the plaintiffs had been substantiated, it would have not only challenged the title of every purchaser and holder of land included in the Ogden Land Company's purchase of August 31, 1826, but also the title to many millions of acres2 of lands in the state held under similar treaties with the Indians. INTRODUCTION On January 21, 1974, the United States Supreme Court overturned one hundred forty-three years of American law. Oneida Indian Nation of New York State v. County of Oneida allowed this Indian nation access to federal courts in the pursuit of its land claims.3 This landmark decision held the federal Trade and Intercourse Acts (Non- Intercourse Acts) applicable to the original thirteen states, thereby providing access of the federal courts to the Oneidas as well as to other Indians seeking their land returned to them.