Historian

Ceremony Recalls 1794 Treaty
by Sarah Moses, Contributing Writer
The Post-Standard - Syracuse, NY
Saturday, 12 November 2005

Native Americans from across New York state gathered Friday to commemorate the anniversary of one of the longest standing treaties between Native Americans and the federal government.

The Canandaigua Treaty was created in 1794 between the Six Nations Iroquois Confederacy and the United States to promote peace and friendship.

"We have a way of life and we have beliefs," said Peter Jemison, a member of the Heron Clan of the Seneca Nation. "And we are remembering that today, by polishing the chain of friendship."

Friday's ceremony was held in front of the Ontario County Courthouse in Canandaigua. The original 1794 treaty was signed near there by Timothy Pickering, agent for the United States, President George Washington and 50 chiefs and warriors of the Iroquois Confederacy.

Several members of the Haudenosaunee Nations were present to commemorate the event, as well as members of the local and federal government.

"Over 200 years ago, several thousands of Native Americans gathered on this site to work out this treaty of peace and friendship," said U.S. Rep. John "Randy" Kuhl, R-Hammondsport. "In January of 1795, President George Washington signed the treaty making it the law of the land."

Kuhl said the federal government hasn't always honored the treaty. He cited the example of the seizure of Seneca land to build the Kinzua Dam in the 1960s as direct violation of the treaty.

"It's important the federal government continues to recognize our treaties," Jemison said. "And although the federal government violated the treaty, they did not break it."

Jemison said having federal and state representatives present each year helps to strengthen the chain of friendship.

"It's our treaty, too," said Christopher Turner, a researcher at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C., and a member of the Treaty Commemoration Committee. "As an American citizen, we have the responsibility to understand and respect this treaty."

The treaty also recognized the U.S. and the Haudenosaunee nations as mutually sovereign governments with separate land.

"It is important to remember that we have separate governments and we are still sovereign today," Jemison said. "We will continue to polish the chain of peace and friendship."

For more about the treaty, see: canandaigua-treaty.org/

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"Be good, be kind, help each other. Respect the ground, respect the drum, respect each other."
--Abe Conklin, Ponca/Osage (1926-1995)