Press Kit

The goals of the Halftown Must Go campaign are these:

• The U.S. Department of Interior and Bureau of Indian Affairs must cease to engage with Clint Halftown and must respect the Gayogo̱hó:nǫˀ removal of Halftown as a representative of Cayuga Nation.
• The U.S. must recognize Gayogo̱hó:nǫˀ governance as guided by the Great Law of Peace. In accordance with this, the U.S. Department of Interior and Bureau of Indian Affairs must revoke their recognition of the Halftown Council and instead affirm the Council of Chiefs and Clan Mothers as the only legitimate government of Cayuga Nation.
• The U.S. President must meet with the Council of Chiefs as per their March 2021 request invoking Article VII of the 1794 Treaty of Canandaigua.

The Gayogo̱hó:nǫˀ (Cayuga Nation) are dealing with what the Nation's citizens have called a dictatorship—one created by colonial policies and enabled by the U.S. federal government. It stems from the mid-2000s, when a Gayogo̱hó:nǫˀ individual named Clint Halftown has refused to step down from a temporary position within Gayogo̱hó:nǫˀ governance, despite being removed by his Clan Mother in accordance with the Great Law of Peace.

In recent years, the U.S. Federal Government has bolstered Halftown, legitimizing him as "Federal Representative" of Cayuga Nation, and proclaiming the "Council" Halftown created to be the government of the Nation. These actions of the U.S. government flagrantly disregard the governance authority held by Clan Mothers and Sachems as per the Haudenosaunee Confederacy's Great Law of Peace. (The Gayogo̱hó:nǫˀ are a member nation of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy.)

Halftown has used intimidation and violence—enacted by a non-Indigenous police force he hired in 2018—to hold control of Cayuga Nation land and businesses. Since 2020, Halftown's "Cayuga Nation Police" (CNP) have escalated their violence against Gayogo̱hó:nǫˀ people who speak out against him. He has now twice destroyed spaces that Gayogo̱hó:nǫˀ citizens used to hold ceremonies, as well as to teach language and culture. Since August 2022, Cayuga Nation Police have also escalated their use of forced evictions, home demolitions, physical violence, and kidnappings of those who speak out. As of summer 2026, the Gayogo̱hó:nǫˀ community has been displaced from Seneca Falls, with their homes now either demolished or occupied by non-Nation members.

For a more thorough overview, see this article published Sept. 29, 2022.

Sachem Sam George
Gayogo̱hó:nǫˀ Condoled Chief, Bear Clan
Media Preferences: Phone or Zoom
Email: sevenclansam@gmail.com
Phone: 585-307-2701

Leanna Young
Gayogo̱hó:nǫˀ Citizen, Heron Clan
Media Preferences: Phone preferred, Zoom possible
Email: leannayoung2014@gmail.com
Phone: 315-577-2205

Ken Wolkin
Settler organizer and local scholar
Media Preferences: Video interview
Email: kewolkin@gmail.com
Phone: 585-478-8147

We've gathered a selection of photos, videos, audio clips, and more that can be shared publicly.

• Tompkins County Legislators press release calling on Biden, September 1, 2022
• Council of Chiefs and Clan Mothers press release on Halftown's August 2022 destruction, August 5, 2022
• Interlaken press release, May 13, 2022
• Dryden Resolution press release, March 21, 2022
• Council of Chiefs press conference, January 24, 2022
• Halftown Must Go Movement Grows, August 26, 2021