BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — The Seneca Nation is pushing forward with plans to build a 28-bay gas station and truck stop on Ohio Street in Buffalo's Old First Ward, seeming to ignore a demand from Mayor Sean Ryan to halt construction by 10 a.m. Wednesday.
By Wednesday afternoon, the construction site was relatively quiet, but new signs had gone up declaring the land sovereign Seneca territory.
Ron Jamieson, a Seneca Nation member who stopped by the site to view the construction and share his opinion on the dispute, said the nation has every right to continue.
"It's sovereign land as it states on the sign. So what's wrong with us doing what we need to do for to better our people?" Jamieson said.
Jamieson said the Nation should not back down.
"We should just continue building and whatever the courts say. The federal government says this is sovereign land and everything else too. So at least stand by that treaty," Jamieson said.
WATCH: Construction continues at site of Seneca Nation's planned gas station
Mayor Sean Ryan told reporters Wednesday that the disagreement is not unusual.
"This is a run of the mill legal dispute. It's a property dispute and we often have property disputes about who can do what with property in the city of Buffalo," Ryan said.
The city's position is that a Seneca-owned company purchased the parcel, but Ryan said that alone does not establish sovereign status.
"But that ownership doesn't make it sovereign land by itself," Ryan said.
The City of Buffalo's own website lists the owner of the land as the Seneca Nation of Indians.
The Seneca Nation also points to a letter from the Department of Interior from three years ago, which they say confirms the site is their territory.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Ryan said the city had not received a formal response from the Seneca Nation.
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