This map, created by Kayla Reopelle and Kaley Belval, is an attempt to catalogue the debate over land rights on the north end of Cayuga Lake. In 1980, the Cayuga Nation first brought a case to the Supreme Court to reclaim their ancestral land, which was illegally seized from them by the New York State Government.
Upstate Citizens for Equality, Inc. is a group of citizens who live on the disputed land and advocate for private land ownership rights. To make their opinions physically present, a series of signs stating “No Reservation, No Sovereign Nation” were placed in front of properties within the Cayuga Nation’s claimed boundaries.
This project is the result of a drive through Cayuga land, photographing signs on Cayuga owned land, from members of Upstate Citizens for Equality, and New York State Historical Markers that shape interpretations of the land within contested borders. Click on the road markers along the route to learn more about these disputes.