loading...

Verona, NY (WIBX) - Calling it a major victory for Oneida and Madison Counties, Senator Charles Schumer says the Department of the Interior and the Census Bureau have retracted a recently issued map that redrew Oneida Indian Nation borders to include over 300,000 acres of new land.

Up through 2010, the Census maps depicted a 32 acre reservation for the Oneida Nation.

Schumer says the Census Bureau will issue a new map reflecting the original boundaries that encompass 32 acres.

A statement from the Oneida Indian Nation says quote -- "every court that has ever considered this issue has ruled that the Oneida Nation Reservation was never disestablished.

Even after Senator Schumer's interference, the Department of the Interior's new letter  still acknowledges that the Oneida Reservation land has not been disestablished and is intact and that this position is legally binding."

The statement also says severe legal issues arise when a member of Congress uses  his position to unduly influence a regulatory process, and especially the Census Bureau, for improper political purposes.

More From WIBX 950