Seneca Nation of Indians

United States Indigenous Peoples of the US New York Indigenous Peoples of New York Seneca Nation of Indians

Ancestral Homeland: Seneca Lake to Allegheny River now in western New York

One of the Iroquois Nations- largest tribe

Prominent Leaders: Cornplanter (Ayentwahga, John O'Bail), Red Jacket (Sagoyewatha), Ely Parker

Tribal Headquarters

Seneca Nation of Indians
P.O. Box 231
Salamanca, NY 14779
Phone: 1-716-945-1790

Fax: 1-716-945-1565

The Seneca Nation of Indians Official Website

History

Brief Timeline

• 1775-1783: Fought with British during the Revolutionary War
• 1831: Ceded land removed to Indian Territory
• 1838: Treaty of Buffalo Creek the tribe lose their New York Reservations
• 1842: Regained the Cattaraugus and Allegheny Reservations
• 1848: Become Seneca Nation of Indians
• 1857: Repurchase the Tonawanda and Buffalo Creek lands using money they had for relocation to Kansas.
• 1869, Quakers established the Seneca Indian School at Wyandotte, Oklahoma. (school closed in 1980)

Additional References to the History of the Tribe

Frank J. Lankes. An outline of West Seneca History. West Seneca, NY. West Seneca Historical Society. 1962. FHL Book 970.1 Al #49

Frank J. Lankes. Reservation Supplement: A Collection of Memorabilia related to Buffalo Creek Reservation. West Seneca, NY 1966. (Cayuga, Onondaga Indians)FHL Book 970.1 Al #50

Arthur Parker. Red Jacket: Last of the Seneca. Washington, Library of Congress FHL Film 1009057 item 2

Reservations

Three State Reservations:

• Allegany Reservation
• Buffalo Creek Reservation
• Cattaraugus Reservation
• Oil Springs Reservation

Tonawanda Band of Seneca Reservation near Akron, New York

Six Nations Reserve, Ontario

Seneca-Cayuga Tribe hold land in Ottawa County, Oklahoma

Records

Correspondence and Census

Tribe	Agency	location of Original Records	Pre-1880 Correspondence M234 RG 75 Rolls 962 Roll Number	FHL Film Number	Post-1885 Census M595 RG 75 Rolls 693 Roll Number	FHL Film Number
Seneca, Indian Territory	Miami (Quapaw) Agency, 1870-1952	Washington D.C. and Fort Worth	Rolls 702-13	-	Rolls 410-16, 487-89	Films: 581405-581411
Seneca, New York	Six Nations Agency, 1824-34	Washington D.C.	Rolls 582-97	-	Rolls 290-300, 488-89	Films: 579700-579709
Seneca, Ohio	Piqua and Ohio Agencies, 1831-43	Washington D.C.	Rolls 600-03	-	-
Seneca, Indian Territory	Neosho Agency, 1837-71	Washington D.C.	Rolls 529-37	-	-

Treaties

• 1784 October 22, at Fort Harmar
• 1789 January 9, at Fort Harmar
• 1792 April 23, with the Five Nations of Indians
• 1794 November 11, at Konondaigua
• 1797 September 15, on Genesee River
• 1802 June 30, at Buffalo Creek
• 1814 July 22, at Greenville
• 1815 September 8, at Spring Wells
• 1817 September 29, on the Miami
• 1818 September 17, at St. Mary's
• 1823 September 3, unratified
• 1831 February 28, at Washington
• 1831 July 20, at Lewistown
• 1832 December 29, at Seneca Agency
• 1835 August 24, at Camp Holmes
• 1838 January 15, at Buffalo Creek, with New York Indians
• 1842 May 20, at Buffalo Creek
• 1857 November 5
• 1865 September 13, at Fort Smith - unratified
• 1867 February 23, at Washington

Vital Records

• Quapaw Agency, M595, births and deaths 1924-1932, FHL | Film: 581408

Important Websites

Seneca History -- from Seneca Nation website -- http://www.senecaindian.com/seneca_tribal.htm

Seneca History -- Wikipedia article -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seneca_nation

Seneca Tribal History -- from Handbook of American Indians... by Frederick Webb Hodge -- http://www.accessgenealogy.com/native/tribes/seneca/senecahist.htm

Seneca History -- from Catholic Encyclopedia -- http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13714a.htm

Family History Library