Frequently Asked Questions

The Gayogo̱hó:nǫˀ (Cayuga) are a member nation of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy whose traditional lands span the area around Cayuga Lake & beyond. The Haudenosaunee Confederacy's official website is a great place to learn about the Confederacy's government, culture and history, land rights, news and events, and more.

The Great Law of Peace, Gayęnawa̱hsraˀgo:wah, is essentially the constitution of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. It is many centuries old and lays out major tenets of Haudenosaunee governance. It embodies values of democratic consensus and 'separation of powers' which directly influenced the U.S. Constitution, as formally acknowledged by the U.S. Congress in 1988 (Concurrent Resolution 331). You can learn more about it from the Skä•noñh Center.

The Two Row Wampum is a treaty that was initially established between the Haudenosaunee and Dutch settlers in 1613. The principles of this treaty were later extended to the fledgling United States. It commits to non-interference in one another's governance affairs while proceeding in relationships of peace and friendship.

The treaty is embodied in a wampum belt, a traditional Haudenosaunee way of recording political events and agreements. The belt depicts two purple rows on a white background, representing the Haudenosaunee nations ("the canoe") and settlers ("the ship") traveling down a river in parallel, without interfering in each other's course. Learn more about it from the American Indian Law Alliance.

In the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, governance responsibility lies with Sachems and Clan Mothers. Sachems and Clan Mothers are collectively called titleholders, meaning they hold titles that come with traditional roles in the political, economic, and social matters of their clans and nations. Sachems are essentially chiefs, who represent their Clan families and the nation as a whole and who comprise the Council of Chiefs.

Clan Mothers are elder women who also hold governance responsibilities within their respective Clan families. Principal among the responsibilities of Clan Mothers is to ascertain the will of their Clan families, which they achieve by holding consensus-building gatherings and discussions within their Clan families. Clan mothers then convey this information to the Sachems. In this way, the active participation of Clan families (i.e., the people) is foundational within Haudenosaunee governance, rather than voting or other external processes. In accordance with the Great Law of Peace, Clan Mothers play a large role in determining who becomes a Sachem, and they hold the responsibility of removing Sachems and other representatives who are not living up to their responsibilities to their people.

The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples provides an internationally recognized framework for the rights of Indigenous peoples across the globe. These rights include:

• All human rights and fundamental freedoms recognized in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international law.
• The right to self-determination: to freely determine their political status and pursue their economic, social, and cultural development.
• The right to participate fully in the political, economic, social, and cultural life of the colonial state.

This U.N. Declaration was initially adopted in 2007. Four countries voted against it, all of them settler colonial states: Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the U.S. Since then, all four have reversed position.

In the early 2000s, Clint Halftown was put into a temporary Clan representative position on the Cayuga Nation's Council during a time when his clan did not have a condoled chief available to serve on the Council. Within that role, Clint Halftown was then "selected by the Cayuga Nation Council as Federal Representative at a time when the Nation had no Condoled Sachems, with the intent that he serve until such time that a Sachem could be condoled whom could then also serve as Federal Representative," according to a 2014 statement from the Gayogo̱hó:nǫˀ Sachems.

Since 2004, Clint Halftown has functioned as both Head of State and has appointed himself Chief Executive Officer of the Nation's enterprises under the false pretenses of his authority as Federal Representative. As such, he has acted unilaterally in all Nation matters, tightly controlling all resources of the Nation and its enterprises with no regard for the will of the Cayuga Nation Council.

— 2014 Official Statement of the Cayuga Nation

Since taking up these positions, Clint Halftown has consistently abused any power he has held.

Multiple times in 2004 and 2005, Halftown was removed and informed of his removal "as a member of the Council by his Heron Clan Mother, Bernadette Hill, with the intent that by extension, he also be removed as Federal Representative. In April 2005, Chuck Jacobs and [Sam George] were Condoled as Sachems by the Grand Council. In January 2006, the Council, which no longer included Mr. Halftown, formally removed Mr. Halftown as Federal Representative." (The Grand Council includes Sachems from across the six nations of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy.)

Over the years, more newly condoled Chiefs have filled previous vacancies, and the Council of Chiefs has consistently told the U.S. government that the U.S. is disregarding Cayuga Nation's sovereignty by continuing to legitimize Halftown. However, the U.S. government has failed to understand and heed the removal of Halftown through Gayogo̱hó:nǫˀ governance processes. To this day, the Department of Interior and Bureau of Indian Affairs continue to engage with him as the federal representative to the U.S. for the Cayuga Nation, and U.S. courts allow him to bring lawsuits in the name of Cayuga Nation, despite the explicit objections of the Council of Chiefs.

The role of representative of the Nation to the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs is a role that the U.S. has created to be filled by a single individual to ease the U.S. federal government's processes of administering nation-to-nation contracts. Indigenous nations have the right to determine and inform the U.S. of who their representative is. This role is often referred to as 'BIA rep,' or 'federal representative.'

This role does not exist within Gayogo̱hó:nǫˀ governance processes, nor the Great Law of Peace. The Nation has, in the past, designated someone in this role to streamline relations with the U.S. government, but this has never been a role that holds title in Gayogo̱hó:nǫˀ governance.

Land-into-trust is a process by which the Department of the Interior (DOI) acquires the title to land that is collectively owned by a federally recognized Native nation or tribe. In other words, the Native nation owns the land, but the U.S. government has the deed. The DOI "holds" the land in trust for the purported benefit of the nation/tribe. The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) describes the land-into-trust process as "one of the most important functions" of the BIA, and even as "essential to Tribal self-determination." Land held in trust is not subject to state taxes or regulation.

The land-into-trust process has been beneficial for some nations, but many Indigenous people, including traditional Gayogo̱hó:nǫˀ citizens, Clan Mothers, and Sachems, instead view this process as one that violates their sovereignty and self-determination, by requiring that the Nation transfer title to their land to the U.S. federal government.

Despite long-standing and unwavering opposition by traditional Gayogo̱hó:nǫˀ people and leaders, Clint Halftown and his Council submitted a Land-into-Trust application which is currently under review by the Department of Interior (DOI) and set to conclude in coming months. In this case, DOI approval would deepen the ongoing violation of Gayogo̱hó:nǫˀ self-determination by further empowering Halftown's illegitimate Council to act in the name of the Nation. Thus, preventing approval of this application is a critical aim of both the Gayogo̱hó:nǫˀ Nation and the HalftownMustGo campaign.

"We have been against Land-into-Trust from the beginning. That was [Halftown's] ploy to get his casino. ... That is not who we are. And if he's allowed to continue on this way, there will be nothing left for my children, there will be nothing left for our collective grandchildren. ... We cannot live on money, we cannot live on cigarettes, we cannot live on gas. There are other sustainable futures that we have with the Gayogo̱hó:nǫˀ Clan Mothers and Chiefs to keep our people here. To help bring our people back. This man only wants to destroy. This man only wants for himself. And if he's allowed to keep doing this, you have just signed on to genocide of Cayuga people."

— Leanna Young, Gayogo̱hó:nǫˀ Heron Clan Citizen

Clint Halftown is fond of claiming that 60% of Cayuga Nation citizens support him. Let's break down where this claim comes from and why it's both misleading and irrelevant. (This info is also available as a PDF for easy printing.)

First off, Clint Halftown was removed from his position on Cayuga Nation Council by his late Clan Mother, Bernadette Hill. In 2011, the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) recognized Halftown's removal as a fact, with the Eastern Regional Director saying, "I would be remiss if I failed to recognize the results of this exercise of ancient traditional authority by the Clan Mothers." (Keel page 3)

The Department of Interior (DOI) later "vacated" that decision, based on a technicality within the Department's procedures. Halftown has refused to accept his removal, in defiance of his Clan Mother, who he once referred to as his "Clan Monster." (MSJ page 14) By continuing to engage with Halftown as a representative of the Nation, the U.S. is actively marginalizing the authority of Clan Mothers.

In order to establish a secure claim to power, Halftown, like a typical dictator, has attempted to re-write the rules. In 2016, his Council conducted a mail survey called a "Statement of Support" (SOS) campaign. Halftown claims the results of this 2016 survey show that 60% of Cayuga Nation citizens supported his Council.

Between 2005 and 2016, the BIA declined to recognize the results of multiple other SOS campaigns by the Halftown Council. These denials were based on the BIA's understanding of Gayogo̱hó:nǫˀ governance processes as operating through consensus rather than voting. But the BIA curiously reversed course and decided to recognize the Halftown Council's 2016 SOS campaign.

Worse, not only did the U.S. government affirm the 2016 SOS results, they even helped Halftown design the campaign: "The BIA decided to provide technical support to the effort despite the opposition of fully half the Nation's recognized Council of Chiefs and all of the Nation's Clan Mothers." (MSJ page 32) In response, in 2018, the Council of Chiefs and Clan Mothers sued the U.S. Department of Interior (DOI) with a Motion for Summary Judgment.

The only expert evidence submitted to Federal Defendants on the soundness of the SOS campaign concluded that it was “plagued by problems of biased language, confounding financial influences, insufficient response categories, acquiescence and social desirability biases, compound questions, and a potential lack of representativeness,” all of which suggested “a deeply flawed method of assessment from which no information may be confidently gathered.”

— Motion for Summary Judgment, page 25

And that's not all: the SOS campaign was designed so that individual citizens' names were associated with their submissions. This means that Halftown—already notorious amongst Nation citizens for acts of workplace intimidation and retaliation—was able to identify those who expressed opposition to his "leadership."

Most importantly, this SOS process is entirely outside the processes of the Great Law of Peace. Even an election considered 'free and fair' by international standards would not live up to the democratic processes of the Cayuga Nation according to the Great Law.

In 2013, the Haudenosaunee Grand Council (which does not recognize the Halftown Council) issued a statement on the historical trend of colonial governments in Canada and the U.S. imposing elected councils. This statement reads, "... the traditional councils are the original governments of the Haudenosaunee communities/nations handling national affairs, while the elected councils are imposed systems… for the administration of colonial policies in each community." (2013 Grand Council Statement)

Even Halftown himself recognized that Gayogo̱hó:nǫˀ governance is not based on majority rule—before it served his interests. In a 1997 letter to the BIA, he wrote, "We are concerned… by your statement that the BIA will continue to accord … recognition to [Chief] Isaac until it is clearly shown that he 'no longer enjoys the support of a majority of the tribal membership'. … Cayuga Chiefs and representatives are… accountable to the Cayuga People. That accountability is enforced according to traditional Cayuga law and the clan system, rather than Anglo concepts of pure majority rule." (MSJ page 12).

What does all this mean? It means that Halftown's claim to have majority support from Gayogo̱hó:nǫˀ citizens is both misleading, in that it lacks critical context, and irrelevant, in that Gayogo̱hó:nǫˀ governance processes don't involve majority rule. The Great Law of Peace is clear: governance authority belongs to Clan Mothers and the Council of Chiefs, and the U.S. must heed their decisions.

Sources:

• Keel Decision
• MSJ (Motion for Summary Judgment)
• 2013 Grand Council Statement

This isn't just a local leadership dispute. The conflict surrounding Halftown is part of larger national issues: the sovereignty and self-determination of Indigenous people, and the obligation of the U.S. (under both treaties and international law) to respect that sovereignty.

You can read a big-picture summary or an in-depth background over on our Press Kit page.

The Two Row Wampum treaty commits to peace, friendship, and non-interference in one another's governance. Sometimes people on the U.S. side of the Two Row are tempted to invoke "non-interference" to justify inaction. However, we must understand our commitment to non-interference in context. When our government has already interfered, inaction and silence are complicity in that interference, and action is required to restore the non-interference the treaty commits to.

With the HalftownMustGo campaign, those of us on the U.S. side of the Two Row Wampum are trying to undo our government's past and ongoing interference with Gayogo̱hó:nǫˀ governance. The commitment to non-interference calls us to oppose the ongoing harms perpetuated by our government backing a tyrant whose temporary role has already been revoked according to Haudenosaunee processes, through his Clan Mother.

Gayogo̱hó:nǫˀ Sachems have specifically called on people of the U.S. for help, for us to address our government on this issue, in their May 2021 letter.