Bill > A10129

This bill reinstates state recognition and acknowledgment of the Montaukett Indian Nation, which was improperly removed in a 1910 court case that declared the tribe "extinct" despite prior U.S. Supreme Court rulings establishing that only Congress, not courts, could determine the status of an Indian tribe and that tribal status could not be invalidated by factors like time, land allotment, or changes in customs. The bill amends the Indian Law to include the Montaukett Indian Nation among recognized New York state Indian nations and tribes and establishes that the Montaukett Indian Nation will have a chief or sachem, three tribal trustees, and a tribal secretary, with elections for trustees held annually on the first Tuesday in April, and all officers serving two-year terms, provided they are at least eighteen years old and certified as lineal members of the nation according to its governance rules, customs, and regulations.

Justice

https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/A10129