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THE COMPLAINT IN THE ONONDAGA LAND RIGHTS ACTION OPENS
WITH THE FOLLOWING WORDS:
 The Onondaga People wish to bring about a healing between
themselves and all others who live in this region that has been the
homeland of the Onondaga Nation since the dawn of time. The Nation
and its people have a unique spiritual, cultural, and historic relationship
with the land, which is embodied in Gayanashagowa, the Great Law of
Peace. This relationship goes far beyond federal and state legal concepts
of ownership, possession or legal rights. The people are one with the
land, and consider themselves stewards of it. It is the duty of the
Nation’s leaders
to work for a healing of this land, to protect it, and to pass it on
to future generations. The Onondaga Nation brings this action on behalf
of its people in the hope that it may hasten the process of reconciliation
and bring lasting justice, peace, and respect among all who inhabit
the area.
The land rights action petitions the federal court to declare
that New York violated federal law when it took Onondaga Land. The
land area includes the Onondaga Nation’s historic territory,
which encompasses not only Syracuse and Onondaga Lake, but stretches
south past Binghamton and north past Watertown.
The Onondaga Nation is suing the State of New York, the City of Syracuse,
Onondaga County, and five corporations for illegal land takings and damage
inflicted on Central New York’s environment. The corporate defendants
are:
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Honeywell International,
Inc., which owns several industrial properties and toxic dumps
along the southwest shore of Onondaga Lake. Honeywell and its predecessor
companies operated various chemical plants from 1880-1980. The pollution
from these operations transformed the lake from its pristine state
into the most polluted body of water on this continent. View a timeline of
Honeywell's history on Onondaga lake. In November, 2005 the Onondaga
Nation reported on the inadequate 'cleanup' plans for just one of Honeywell's
toxic sites. To read the report (.pdf) click
here.
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Clark Concrete Company (recently
purchased by Cranesville Block) and its subsidiary, Valley Realty Development,
own a gravel mine in Tully that has degraded the headwaters of Onondaga
Creek. The mining area contains areas of extreme archaeological and cultural
sensitivity for the Onondaga Nation.
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Hanson Aggregates and
its subsidiaries, which own the Jamesville Quarry. The quarry is
the largest open pit mine in the state and sprawls across portions
of the towns of DeWitt and LaFayette.
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Trigen Syracuse Energy Corporation,
which owns an energy cogeneration plant in the Town of Geddes that
burns a combination of coal and plastic/paper waste. The toxic emissions
caused by burning these materials include large quantities of hydrochloric
acid and dioxins.
The Onondaga will not settle for
methods such as casinos that have been used to resolve other Native American
claims.
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