The legal fight against Seneca-owned lands in Western New York has grown, with New York State recently launching a lawsuit challenging the restricted-fee status given to parcels in Grand Island and Buffalo.
The City of Buffalo has been engaged in legal action since September, after the Seneca Nation started construction of a gas station on a parcel near the Buffalo River. The land was granted restricted-fee status, which takes jurisdiction from state and local governments, in 2023 after no objection from officials outside of the Seneca Nation.
Buffalo was unsuccessful in state court in its attempts to gain an injunction on construction. However the city has also been waging a separate legal action in federal court against the Interior Department and Bureau of Indian Affairs for that 2023 decision.
New York State's new federal lawsuit mirrors much of the city's argument.
"Governor Hochul is committed to a strong, productive relationship between the State and the Seneca Nation and she respects the principles of tribal sovereignty," a spokesperson for Hochul said in a statement. "The governor also has an obligation to protect the interests of all western New Yorkers, including ensuring that development in their communities follows appropriate laws and oversight. The State believes the Department of the Interior incorrectly qualified these parcels for sovereignty status, and we are confident the courts will agree."
The state is also challenging the status of another Seneca parcel in Grand Island. At more than 200 acres, it's much larger than the proposed gas station site near the Buffalo River. It was acquired for $1 in what was described as a "gift" from William and Michael Huntress. The two developers had planned to build an Amazon warehouse on the property, but the project stalled after pushback from local residents and officials.
"It's a big piece of land. It's in a great location. I think there's plenty of opportunities out there, we could speculate for a lot of different things," Seneca President J. Conrad Seneca told BTPM News in December 2025. "Our business council will take a look at the different opportunities out there. We may possibly, who knows, get some calls from different ones now that may be interested in possible development."
The Seneca Nation, historically, has claimed ownership over all of Grand Island and launched legal action in 1993 that argued the 1815 acquisition by New York State was illegal, because it did not have federal approval. Litigation stretched until 2004 but was unsuccessful for the Senecas.
The Senecas say both acquisitions were made following the terms of the Seneca Nation Settlement Act, a point in which the state and City of Buffalo reject.
Following the state's latest legal action, President Seneca, whose term ends this week, issued the following statement:
"As we celebrate Native American Heritage Month, a time to respect and honor our ancestors and our culture, we now have Governor Hochul's latest attempt to extinguish us and our economic ability to serve our people," he said. "The Governor talks about building a productive relationship with the Seneca Nation, but we found out about her latest threat to our sovereignty and attempt to take our lands through the media. This is the same disrespectful, anti-Seneca treatment we have always received and come to expect from the Hochul administration and past Governors. We will continue to face and stand strong against these repeated attacks from a Governor and a state intent on getting rid of us."
This is the second major state legal action against Native jurisdiction over lands under Hochul's tenure. Since last year, the state has been engaged in challenges against the Shinnecock Nation in Long Island and its construction of a truck stop near the Thruway on land the Shinnecocks say is restricted-fee land.
