Tonawanda Band of Seneca
Tanöwöde' Onödowá'ga Yoindzade (Seneca) | |
---|---|
Total population | |
Enrolled members | |
Regions with significant populations | |
New York | |
About 700 | |
Languages | |
English, Seneca | |
Religion | |
Christianity, traditional religion | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Seneca, Oneida, Mohawk, Onondaga, Cayuga, Tuscarora |
The Tonawanda Seneca Nation (previously known as the Tonawanda Band of Seneca Indians) (
The Tonawanda Seneca Nation is one of two
The Tonawanda Band opted out of participating in the republic (in part due to hostilities stemming from the Buffalo Creek sale), leading to the band's formation nine years later. In 1857, the Tonawanda Band signed a treaty with the United States and was recognized as a tribe independent of the Seneca Nation of New York. The new treaty with the US allowed the Tonawanda Band to buy back lands from the Ogden Land Company, which had been sold out without their permission in the Treaties of Buffalo Creek. The Tonawanda retrieved the horns of authority and other artifacts from the other Seneca tribes and re-established a continuation of the traditional Seneca government that existed prior to 1848. They have a matrilineal kinship system; hereditary chiefs are selected through the maternal line by clan mothers. The Tonawanda Band govern a 7,500-acre reservation near Akron, New York.[1]
In addition, some Seneca relocated to
History
On 15 January 1838, the United States government entered into the
The US modified the 1838 treaty with the Treaty with the Seneca of 1842. The new treaty reflected that the Ogden Land Company had purchased only two reservations, including the Tonawanda Reservation. The Seneca retained the Cattaraugus and Allegany reservations.[3] At this time, the Seneca of the Tonawanda Reservation protested they had not been consulted on either treaty, nor had their chiefs signed either treaty. They refused to leave their reservation.
In 1848, the Seneca Indians of the Cattaraugus and Allegany reservations held a
The Tonawanda Band did not want to make such changes, and thus seceded from the main Seneca nation in New York. They reorganized and re-established their traditional government with a council of chiefs representing each of their eight
Under their traditional government, hereditary chiefs typically served for life. They governed by a
"The Tonawanda Band consists of eight '
clans': the Snipe, the Heron, the Hawk, the Deer, the Wolf, the Beaver, the Bear, and the Turtle. Each clan appoints a clan mother, who in turn appoints an individual to serve as Chief [from hereditary maternal lines]. The clan mother retains the power to remove a Chief and, in consultation with members of the clan, provides recommendations to the Chief on matters of tribal government. The clan mothers cannot disregard the views of the clan, nor can the Chiefs disregard the recommendations of the clan mothers."[4]
See also
References
- ^ "FindLaw's United States Second Circuit case and opinions".
- ^ "Treaty of Buffalo Creek", 15 January 1838, 7 Stat. 550.
- ^ "Treaty with the Seneca of 1842", Oklahoma State Library, accessed 22 Mar 2010
- ^ a b PETER L. POODRY, DAVID C. PETERS, SUSAN LAFROMBOISE, JOHN A. REDEYE, and STONEHORSE LONE GOEMAN, Petitioners-Appellants, v. TONAWANDA BAND OF SENECA INDIANS; BERNARD PARKER, a/k/a Ganogehdaho; KERVIN JONATHAN, a/k/a Skongataigo; EMERSON WEBSTER, a/k/a Gauhnahgoi; DARREN JIMERSON, a/k/a Sohjeahnohous; HARLEY GORDON, a/k/a Gah-En-Keh; JAMES LOGAN; and DARWIN HILL,, 1995, accessed 22 Mar 2010
- ^ "Treaty with the Seneca, Tonawanda Band", Oklahoma State Library, accessed 22 Mar 2010
External links
- Treaty with the Seneca, Tonawanda Band, Oklahoma State University