To authorize, ratify, and confirm the Agreement of Settlement and Compromise to Resolve the Akwesasne Mohawk Land Claim in the State of New York, and for other purposes.
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Would ratify a legal settlement resolving decades-old Mohawk land claims in northern New York, confirming land transfers among the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe, New York State, two counties, two towns, and the New York Power Authority.
It would also recognize tribal-owned land within designated settlement areas as "Indian country," extending tribal and federal jurisdiction there, ending litigation that dates back to the 1980s over disputed Mohawk territory.
What this bill would do
What it would do
The bill would authorize, ratify, and confirm the Agreement of Settlement and Compromise resolving the Akwesasne Mohawk land claim, an agreement already negotiated among the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe, the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne, New York State, Franklin and Saint Lawrence Counties, the Towns of Fort Covington and Bombay, and the New York Power Authority. It would also confirm any land, right-of-way, or easement transfers that were the subject of three specified federal court cases dating to 1982 and 1989. Separately, the bill would designate land the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe owns, or later acquires, within the settlement's designated acquisition areas as "Indian country" under federal law, subject to the settlement agreement's own terms and limits. The bill does not itself spell out the settlement's substantive terms, such as tuition assistance or power authority payments, beyond ratifying the underlying agreement.
Key provisions
- 1Would authorize, ratify, and confirm the Agreement of Settlement and Compromise resolving the Akwesasne Mohawk land claim among the tribe, state, counties, towns, and power authority.
- 2Would confirm any land, right-of-way, or easement transfers at issue in three specified federal court cases from 1982 and 1989.
- 3Would designate land owned or later acquired by the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe within settlement acquisition areas as "Indian country" under federal law.
Who would be affected
The Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe and its members, the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne, New York State, Franklin and Saint Lawrence Counties, the Towns of Fort Covington and Bombay, and the New York Power Authority are all parties to the settlement. Residents and landowners in the settlement acquisition areas would also be affected by the jurisdictional change.
Why it matters
Congressional ratification would give federal legal force to a settlement ending decades of land-claim litigation, restoring land and jurisdictional rights to the tribe and providing certainty to the state and local governments involved. Classifying tribal lands as "Indian country" would shift criminal and regulatory jurisdiction over those areas toward tribal and federal authority.
What would change
Changes to existing law
Amends 18 U.S.C. § 1151(a) (Sec. 2)
Applies the existing federal definition of "Indian country" to tribal land within the settlement acquisition areas.
Effective dates
- Land owned by the tribe becomes Indian country as of the settlement agreement's effective date
How implementation would work
The bill's main mechanism is legal ratification: once enacted, the pre-negotiated Settlement Agreement and any related court-case land transfers take effect with federal legal backing, resolving the underlying litigation. No new agency rulemaking or grant process is created by the bill text itself; implementation follows the settlement agreement's own terms, including future land acquisitions by the tribe within designated areas being automatically treated as Indian country going forward.
Legislative status & sources
Latest action
Committee on Indian Affairs. Hearings held.
Official CRS summary
Show the CRS summaryHide the CRS summary
This bill recognizes and settles the Akwesasne land claim in northern New York. (Akwesasne is a Mohawk territory that extends into the United States and Canada, specifically New York, Ontario, and Quebec.)
The bill authorizes, ratifies, and confirms a specified settlement agreement entered into by the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe (SRMT), the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne, the State of New York, Franklin and Saint Lawrence Counties in New York, the towns of Fort Covington and Bombay in New York, and the New York Power Authority. (Among its provisions, the settlement agreement restores land rights and provides access to land to SRMT, provides tuition assistance for tribal members to certain postsecondary institutions, and requires the New York Power Authority to make annual payments to SRMT.)
Additionally, the bill authorizes, ratifies, and confirms any transfer of land, right-of-way, or easement that is the subject of claims in specified court cases.
The bill also recognizes as Indian country any land owned or subsequently acquired by SRMT within the settlement acquisition areas. (The term Indian country, for purposes of criminal jurisdiction, generally refers to all lands within a tribal reservation, dependent Indian communities, and tribal allotments.)
Legislative subjects
Federal-Indian relations; Indian claims; Indian lands and resources rights; Land transfers; Native Americans; New York State
Committee report
H. Rept. 119-355