Today
Today, there are three Cayuga bands. The two largest, the Lower Cayuga and Upper Cayuga, still live in Ontario, both at Six Nations of the Grand River. Two federally recognized tribes of Cayuga are in the United States: the Cayuga Nation of New York in Seneca Falls, New York, and the Seneca-Cayuga Tribe of Oklahoma.
The Cayuga Nation of New York does not have a reservation. Members of the former Cayuga Nation live among the Seneca Nation on their reservation.
In December 2005, the S.H.A.R.E. (Strengthening Haudenosaunee-American Relations through Education) Farm was signed over to the Cayuga nation by the United States citizens who purchased and developed the 70-acre (280,000 m2) farm in Aurora, New York. This is the first property which the Cayuga Nation has owned. It is the first time they have lived within the borders of their ancestral homeland in more than 200 years. The Cayuga continue to debate the issue of establishing a Land Trust for the property through the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
The first land reclaimed was in 1996. On July 17, 1996, the Cayuga People purchased 14 acres (57,000 m2) in Seneca Falls, NY within their 64,000 acres (260 km2) land claim area. On August 2, 1997 a dedication was held where members of all the Iroquois Confederacy were present. This purchase began the return of the Cayuga People to their ancestral homelands. A pine tree was planted at this dedication as a symbol that the Cayuga People are still alive and wanting to return. The elder women of the Cayuga Nation unitedly broke the ground and planted the pine tree to welcome the return of their people to the territory.
Read more about this topic: Cayuga People
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