New law creates important pathways for Nation, local law enforcement to collaborate to protect Seneca Nation territories
CATTARAUGUS TERRITORY, IRVING, N.Y. – The Seneca Nation has secured key legislation to help in its ongoing battle against illegal drug activity on its territories.
Late Friday evening, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law a bill which Nation leaders presented and advocated for throughout this year’s New York State legislative session amending Section 8 and adding a new Section 79 of New York Indian Law. The new law clarifies existing law, enabling the Seneca Nation to better work in coordinated partnership with New York State Police, County Sheriffs and City of Salamanca police in removing non-Native intruders engaged in drug trafficking and other illicit activities from the Seneca Nation’s sovereign territories.
“This is a long-awaited and hard-fought victory for the Seneca people,” said Seneca Nation President J. Conrad Seneca. “Governor Hochul did the right thing in signing this legislation. It provides a new, needed and incredibly powerful tool in ridding Seneca territory of non-Native people who are using our territories as a haven for drug trafficking and drug use. This should send a clear message to those individuals who are terrorizing our people: the Seneca Nation will stop at nothing to protect our people, our territories, and our communities.”
“Public safety is my top priority, and coordination and collaboration between all levels of law enforcement is essential to driving down crime and keeping New Yorkers safe,” Governor Hochul said. “With this legislation, we are ensuring the Seneca Nation has the tools and resources they need by partnering with the State Police and local law enforcement to fight drug trafficking, combat criminal activity, and further protect the Nation. I thank President Seneca for his work in advocating for this legislation and the work he continues to do to rid the Seneca Nation of illicit drugs, and combat addiction and substance abuse.”
President Seneca acknowledged the tireless and selfless efforts of the Seneca Mothers Against Drug Dealers (SMADD) in highlighting and demanding action to combat illegal drug activity on the Nation’s territories. Members of SMADD have gone to great lengths, including camping outside known drug houses with spotlights in an effort to keep the community safe.
“The members of SMADD have been demanding action, even placing themselves in harm’s way. We listened and have made combatting the drug issue a top priority,” President Seneca added. “Along with SMADD, I want to thank the County Sheriffs and other local law enforcement partners who supported this legislation, the bill sponsors, State Senator Sean Ryan and Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes, and legislative leaders who worked with us to pass the bill, and Governor Hochul for considering the bill’s importance and signing it into law.”
Governor Hochul’s signature comes at a critical time in the Seneca Nation’s ongoing battle against illegal drug activity. Over a 60-day period earlier this year, the Nation witnessed three murders on its territories, each with a suspected connection to drug activity. In recent years, President Seneca and his predecessors have issued multiple Executive Orders excluding known drug dealers from Nation territory and the Nation has moved to evict tenants at several properties on Nation lands where criminal activity is known and proven to have taken place.
The Seneca Nation’s territories are in the middle of a known drug trafficking corridor from nearby Jamestown through Salamanca and across the Southern Tier, as well as along the New York State Thruway and up toward Buffalo. All the while, ambiguities in existing law left sheriffs and local law enforcement to navigate conflicting interpretations of removal authority, and drug dealers have exploited the confusion. “Armed with the clarity of this new legislation, the Seneca Nation will immediately begin working with our local law enforcement partners on agreements and strategies to cooperatively address the issues facing our territories,” President Seneca said. “We are going to stay vigilant on every front of this ongoing battle: working with law enforcement, working with federal, state and local governments, staying active and alert in our communities, and providing critical support and pathways to recovery for those dealing with addiction. We have to finally put a stop to what has been going on for far too long. Drug dealers have had the upper hand. That’s going to change.”
