
- Details
- By Native News Online Staff
The Cayuga Nation in upstate New York is moving forward in their attempt to shutter what they allege is an “illegal cannabis business” run by a tribal member in a residential area.
The Cayuga Nation and two nearby non-Native homeowners sued the Town of Seneca Falls and a local Native cannabis business owner in November 2021 for “purportedly selling marijuana from a front lawn shed on a residential street in violation of the town’s zoning code,” according to a statement from the tribe.
“We believe that the sale of marijuana by this individual within a residential district poses a substantial risk of harm to residents of the area as well as the public at large,” the attorney for the plaintiffs, Lee Alcott, wrote to in a letter to the Town of Seneca Falls on Oct. 25, 2021.
“We therefore request that the Town take immediate steps to enforce the zoning law against the owner and operator of this property.” The complaint was filed with the Seneca County Clerk two weeks later.
The Nation has been operating its own cannabis businesses for recreational use since February 2022.
The Seneca County Supreme Court initially dismissed the case on the grounds that the Nation and local homeowners did not have “standing” to file the suit, but the Appellate Division unanimously reversed the lower court’s decision on Feb. 3.
“The Cayuga Nation enforces its own laws to regulate businesses on our reservation, and we expect that municipalities will do the same with respect to non-Cayuga business,” Clint Halftown, the Nation’s federal representative, said in a statement.
The suit will now go forward in the New York State Supreme Court.
“The Nation remains hopeful that the Town will take action to shutter this business and return peace to the residential area,” Halftown said.
Carlin Seneca-John, the owner of the disputed business Gramma Approved Sovereign Trades, was not available for comment before press time.
More Stories Like This
Lawsuit Filed by Fort Belknap Indian Community Against Greenberg Traurig, LLP Reads Like a Movie ScriptSpecial Edition Native Bidaské: Oglala Composer Mato Wayuhi
Ho-Chunk Trucker Spreads MMIP Message, Offers Safe Haven from Domestic Violence
Native News Weekly (September 24, 2023): D.C. Briefs
Assemblyman Ramos Honored with Award for Long Service to California Native American Commission
Native News is free to read.
We hope you enjoyed the story you've just read. For the past dozen years, we’ve covered the most important news stories that are usually overlooked by other media. From the protests at Standing Rock and the rise of the American Indian Movement (AIM), to the ongoing epidemic of Murdered and Missing Indigenous People (MMIP) and the past-due reckoning related to assimilation, cultural genocide and Indian Boarding Schools.
Our news is free for everyone to read, but it is not free to produce. That’s why we’re asking you to make a donation to help support our efforts. Any contribution — big or small — helps. Most readers donate between $10 and $25 to help us cover the costs of salaries, travel and maintaining our digital platforms. If you’re in a position to do so, we ask you to consider making a recurring donation of $12 per month to join the Founder's Circle. All donations help us remain a force for change in Indian Country and tell the stories that are so often ignored, erased or overlooked.
Donate to Native News Online today and support independent Indigenous journalism. Thank you.