Hobart suing federal government over ruling that moved land back to Oneida reservation
Frank VaisvilasIn another move in what's been a contentious relationship for more than 20 years, the village of Hobart is suing the federal government over its decision to return land to the Oneida Nation reservation that had been considered part of Hobart.
Hobart is almost entirely situated within the 65,000-acre Oneida Reservation just west of Green Bay. When the tribe bought the nearly 500 acres in Hobart in question, it applied for the land to be moved to federal trust status, meaning it would revert to Oneida sovereign land, which isn't subject to local taxes and jurisdiction. The U.S. Department of the Interior eventually approved the move.
In November, Hobart sued, arguing the federal government unconstitutionally ruled in favor of the tribe. Last week, the Department of the Interior issued its response and the Oneida Nation filed a motion to intervene in the case as a defendant.
Hobart makes a number of allegations, including that government and the tribe have a conflict of interest.
The village also cites a study from a right-wing think tank, the Beacon Hill Institute, that says if the tribe continues buying land and asking to have it moved into federal trust at the current rate, Hobart would have no property-tax revenue left to collect within 50 years.
“The study concluded: ‘… if the (Tribe) continue(s) its trends of transferring land from fee to trust, the Village will face fiscal and geographical extinction,'” the village’s complaint read.
The tribe and the Interior Department dispute Hobart’s claims. A March 18 conference is the next federal court date in the case.
Oneida Nation has been buying land back after losing it through the 1887 General Allotment Act
The Oneida Reservation in Wisconsin was formed in 1838 through a treaty with the United States.
The Oneida people started arriving in what's now Wisconsin during the early 1800s after being forced from their homeland in New York by state government.
This forced removal occurred despite the Oneida Tribe being guaranteed the right to their original land by the federal government after the tribe helped defeat the British during the Revolutionary War and played a significant role in the creation of the United States.
The 1887 General Allotment Act allowed non-tribal people to purchase, and sometimes obtain through fraudulent methods, land on Indigenous reservations throughout the U.S., including in Oneida.
Because this act proved devastating to tribes, Congress enacted the Indian Reorganization Act in 1934 in an attempt to remedy the harmful effects of allotment and to promote tribal self-governance.
The village of Hobart had been formed through land purchased on Oneida Reservation land by non-tribal residents through the Allotment Act. The Oneida Nation has been slowly buying back land, often at higher than market value, from non-tribal members on its reservation since the 1990s, mostly with gaming revenue.
Oneida Nation has disputes with Hobart, agreements with other municipalities
Sections of Green Bay and Ashwaubenon are also located on the reservation as a result of the Allotment Act. The Oneida Nation has entered into revenue and jurisdiction sharing agreements with them as it moves reservation land into trust.
But those types of agreements don't exist between Hobart and Oneida. The two have been heavily embroiled in legal disputes for more than two decades. Over nine of these years, the legal disputes have cost the village of 10,000 people about $1 million of public funds, according to a public records request by the Green Bay Press-Gazette.
Frank Vaisvilas is a former Report for America corps member who covers Native American issues in Wisconsin based at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Contact him at fvaisvilas@gannett.com or 815-260-2262. Follow him on Twitter at @vaisvilas_frank.