Mohawk v. Longfinger

The plaintiff and defendant are tribal Indians of the Seneca Nation residing on the Cattaraugus Reservation. The action is to partition land lying within the County of Cattaraugus but located upon the Cattaraugus Indian Reservation.

The defendant moves to dismiss the complaint upon the grounds that the court has no jurisdiction to adjudicate a claim to lands within the boundaries of the Indian Reservation; and between tribal Seneca Indians. He cites Matter of Patterson v. Seneca Nation (245 N. Y. 433).

This case decides in substance that the Senecas were a nation with a strong central…