By Scott Rapp

 A Cayuga Indians' spokesman said Wednesday his nation will seek eviction of all 7,000 property owners in the Cayuga land claim area if the case goes to trial.

 "We would seek ejectment because the people wouldn't have clear title to the land. They would be trespassers. What else can we do?" Clint Halftown said from Vancouver, Canada.

 The Cayuga County Legislature Tuesday turned up the heat in the Cayuga's 18-year-old land claim dispute when it voted to stop negotiating an out-of-court settlement and take the case to court.

 The case is pending in federal court in Syracuse where U.S. District Judge Neal P. McCurn ruled in June there could be no eviction.

 Residents in Madison and Oneida counties are closely watching the latest development in the Cayuga land claim, said Scott Peterman, president of the United Citizens for Equality. His group is fighting the Oneida Indian Nation's attempt to reclaim 250,000 acres in those two counties. The Onondaga Nation, preparing to file a land claim, has said it would not seek eviction of residents.

 In Cayuga County, more than 60 residents, many of whom live in the land claim area, pushed county legislators at a meeting Tuesday to take the case to court.

 "If we didn't fight 200 years ago, we'd still be under British rule and paying higher taxes for tea," Fred Conley of Seneca Falls said to the legislature, referring to the American Revolution.

 The Cayugas filed a lawsuit in 1980 seeking return of 64,027 acres in Cayuga and Seneca counties that cap the northern end of Cayuga Lake. They claim the state illegally obtained the land from their ancestors by violating a 1790 federal law.

 The trial date for the case was recently moved to early October from Sept. 8. Until now, the defendants - the two counties, state and federal governments - have been negotiating with the Cayugas through a mediator.

 Halftown said he still prefers to settle the case out of court.

 "We have to work out some peaceful agreement that would hopefully benefit us all. If we go to court, it's out of our hands and out of their hands. That's really a big risk to take," he said.

 The move to force the dispute to trial, however, appears to be gaining strength.

 Leaders of the Cayuga-Seneca chapter of the United Citizens for Equality group are going to ask the Seneca County Board of Supervisors Tuesday to also stop negotiating with the Cayugas.

 "It looks like most of the people are willing to roll the dice. We're willing to take it to the Supreme Court. We just want to put it in the hands of a different judge," said Mel Russo, a realtor and co-chair of the Cayuga-Seneca chapter of the citizens group.

 Martin R. Gold, the Cayugas' lawyer, questioned the wisdom of taking the dispute to court. He said he didn't think the Cayuga County Legislature acted responsibly in voting to end talks.

 Gold of New York City said no one will be forced from their homes in an out-of-court settlement, but he said an appeals court could evict all or some of the 7,000 property owners.

 Gold also said he thinks some residents fighting the land claim are using racist tactics similar to those in the civil rights movement in the 1960s.

 "It's kind of repulsive and nauseating to see elected officials in my state responding to that kind of stuff," he said.

 State Sen. Michael F. Nozzolio, R-Fayette, repeated his pledge from last week to oppose any negotiated settlement not endorsed by both county legislatures. Assemblyman Daniel J. Fessenden, R-Ledyard, would only say that he has "grave concerns" about Cayuga County's decision to halt negotiations.