The Cayuga Indian Nation of New York has purchased a farm in the Finger Lakes region, the tribe’s first large acquisition since being driven from its homeland during the Revolutionary War.
Tribal leaders said they bought the 70-acre organic farm in the Cayuga County town of Springport from a local nonprofit group that works to strengthen relations between the Iroquois Confederacy and local residents.
“This is a wonderful thing for our people,” said Chief William Jacobs of the Cayuga Nation Council. “This puts us back in touch with our land. It gives us a base and a place to call home where we can re-establish ourselves as Cayuga people.”
Cayuga Nation officials said there are no immediate plans for the 600-member tribe to relocate to the farm, which has apple orchards, a farmhouse, barns and a silo. But tribal leaders said they would someday like to erect a traditional Iroquois longhouse on the property.
The Cayugas and other tribes were driven from their homeland when the Continental Army launched a campaign against the Iroquois in 1779. While other tribes were able to hang onto tiny slices of their territory, most of the Cayugas eventually resettled in Oklahoma.
SOURCE:
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