S-3475 — A bill to authorize, ratify, and confirm the Agreement of Settlement and Compromise to Resolve the Akwesasne Mohawk Land Claim in the State of New York, and for other purposes.

YourVoice.Now Summary

Civil LibertiesCriminal Justice & Due Process

A Mohawk land claim filed in the 1980s would be settled — a change for far northern New York.

Civil Liberties

Mohawk Tribe's land rights settled — claims filed in the 1980s

The Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe has had a land claim in court against New York since 1982. The bill would approve the settlement the Tribe and the state signed to end it.

Settled ownership for disputed land — past transfers confirmed by Congress

Land, road, and utility transfers in the claim area were tied up in three lawsuits. The bill would confirm those transfers by law, so titles no longer hang on how the cases end.

Criminal Justice & Due Process

Land under federal tribal-land rules — decides who handles crimes there

Land the Tribe owns in the settlement areas would count as “Indian country” under federal law. That label is how federal law sorts out who handles crimes on a piece of land.

Federal tribal-land status for future purchases — only inside the settlement areas

Land the Tribe buys in those areas later would get the same federal status. The bill sets no end date for this, but the settlement's own limits still apply.

More about this bill

Most people would see no change. This one is local. It would settle a land claim brought by the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe in far northern New York. Three lawsuits over that land have been open since the 1980s. Congress would approve a deal the Tribe already signed with the state and local governments. The New York Power Authority signed it too. If you own land in Fort Covington or Bombay, past land transfers there would be confirmed by law. The court fight over those transfers would end. Land the Tribe owns inside the settlement areas would count as tribal land under federal law. Land the Tribe buys there later would count too. That status is what federal law uses to decide who handles crimes on it. The bill is not law yet. It was introduced in December 2025 and got a Senate hearing in June 2026.

Congressional Summary

This bill recognizes and settles the Akwesasne land claim in northern New York. (Akwesasne is a Mohawk territory that extends into the United States and Canada, specifically New York, Ontario, and Quebec.)The bill authorizes, ratifies, and confirms a specified settlement agreement entered into by the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe (SRMT), the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne, the State of New York, Franklin and Saint Lawrence Counties in New York, the towns of Fort Covington and Bombay in New York, and the New York Power Authority. (Among its provisions, the settlement agreement restores land rights and provides access to land to SRMT, provides tuition assistance for tribal members to certain postsecondary institutions, and requires the New York Power Authority to make annual payments to SRMT.)Additionally, the bill authorizes, ratifies, and confirms any transfer of land, right-of-way, or easement that is the subject of claims in specified court cases.The bill also recognizes as Indian country any land owned or subsequently acquired by SRMT within the settlement acquisition areas. (The term Indian country, for purposes of criminal jurisdiction, generally refers to all lands within a tribal reservation, dependent Indian communities, and tribal allotments.)

Details

Congress: 119th
Chamber: Senate
Status: summarized
Action: Introduced in Senate
Action Date: 2025-12-15
Date Added: 2026-04-09
Source: Congress.gov →

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