Provisions
I.15 proposed for 1916 • Indian lands.
REJECTED
The Text
No purchase or contract for the sale of lands in this state, made since the fourteenth day of October, one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five; or which may hereafter be made, of, or with the Indians, shall be valid unless made under the authority, and with the consent of the legislature. The peacemakers’ courts of the Tonawanda nation, the peacemakers’ courts and surrogates’ courts of the Seneca nation and all other agencies of the Indian tribes and nations in so far as they exercise judicial functions are hereby abolished, and their jurisdiction shall vest in the courts of the state. All actions and proceedings now pending in such courts and agencies of the Indian nations and tribes shall be transferred for determination to the proper courts of the state. Except as otherwise provided by the treaties of this state and the constitution, treaties and laws of the United States, all general laws of the state, now or hereafter in force, shall apply to all Indians within the state. The legislature shall provide for the preservation of the judicial records of the Indian tribes and nations.
A Few Facts
• Has 185 words
• Was proposed by the Constitutional Convention
• Went to NYS voters as proposed amendment 4 of 1915
If New Yorkers voted to approve this provision, it would have:
• Joined the Constitution in 1916
• Been in Article I: Civil rights
• Changed the text of a previously existing provision
• Amended or built on:
◦ 1895-I.15
Credits
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