For Immediate Release: February 18, 2021
(Oneida Reservation) – The Oneida Nation is pleased the Village of Hobart has decided not to seek review of the Big Apple Fest Case by the United States Supreme Court. Yesterday was the deadline for Hobart to file for a petition for certiorari with the Supreme Court.
Chairman Tehassi Hill noted, “We now can close the books on this case and continue to exercise our sovereign jurisdiction on our Reservation. We have always acted in the most prudent manner and regulated our affairs like a responsible government. In July 2020 the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit issued a well-reasoned and definitive decision that our Reservation established by the 1838 Treaty with the Oneida remains intact. We recently observed the 183-year anniversary of the Treaty. The Village’s decision not to prolong the case is good news and allows both governments to move forward without the cloud of litigation hanging over our heads. We thank the United States, the State of Wisconsin, the National Congress of American Indians, the Indian Land Tenure Foundation and the Native American Rights Fund for their support in the case.”
