Aboriginal title in New York

Last updated
Iroquois lands circa 1720 Iroquois 6 Nations map c1720.png
Iroquois lands circa 1720
A map showing the Phelps and Gorham Purchase, the Morris Reserve, and the Holland Purchase WNY5.PNG
A map showing the Phelps and Gorham Purchase, the Morris Reserve, and the Holland Purchase

Aboriginal title in New York refers to treaties, purchases, laws and litigation associated with land titles of aboriginal peoples of New York, in particular, to dispossession of those lands by actions of European Americans. The European purchase of lands from indigenous populations dates back to the legendary Dutch purchase of Manhattan in 1626, "the most famous land transaction of all." [1] More than any other state, New York disregarded the Confederation Congress Proclamation of 1783 and the follow-on Nonintercourse Acts, purchasing the majority of the state directly from the Iroquois nations without federal involvement or ratification. [2]

Contents

New York is the source of several landmark decisions concerning aboriginal title including Oneida I (1974), "first of the modern-day [Native American land] claim cases to be filed in federal court," [3] and Oneida II (1985), "the first native land claim case won on the basis of the Nonintercourse Act." [4] New York was the site of nearly all remaining Native American possessory land claims when the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held in Cayuga Nation of N.Y. v. Pataki (2005) that the equitable doctrine of laches (duty of "timeliness") bars all tribal land claims sounding in ejectment or trespass, for both tribal plaintiffs and the federal government as plaintiff-intervenor. [5] Since the ruling, no tribal plaintiff has overcome the laches defense in a land claim in the Second Circuit. [6]

There are currently 10 Native reservations in New York: Allegany Reservation, Cattaraugus Reservation, Oil Springs Reservation, Oneida Reservation, Onondaga Reservation, Poospatuck Reservation, St. Regis Mohawk Reservation, Shinnecock Reservation, Tonawanda Reservation, and Tuscarora Reservation.

History

New Netherland

The Charter of Freedoms and Exemptions (1629) contained the first codified prohibition on private purchases of land from Natives. Charter of Freedoms and Exemptions (Dutch West India Company) 1630.jpg
The Charter of Freedoms and Exemptions (1629) contained the first codified prohibition on private purchases of land from Natives.

The details of the early dealings with indigenous peoples by the Dutch New Netherland settlements are not known with certainty. [7] The first recorded land transaction is for Manhattan, reported by a letter from Peter Schagen, the deputy of the Dutch West India Company, on November 5, 1626, claiming: "They have purchased the Island Manhattes from the (Natives) for the value of 60 guilders; 'tis 11,000 morgens in size." [8] Many secondary sources simply report this value as $24; of course: United States Dollars (and the United States) did not exist in 1626; 60 guilders likely represented the estimated value of trade goods; the historical exchange rate calculation used to reach this figure is not known (if in fact it is the source of any such calculation). [1] By comparison, the value of the goods on the ship bearing the letter back to the Netherlands was 45,000 guilders. [1] Sixty guilders in 1626, converted and adjusted for inflation, would be $888 in 2001 U.S. dollars. [9] [10]

Prof. Banner, noting that the transaction was the first "purchase" of land from the indigenous population of the continent, and the fact that the natives remained in Manhattan and traded with the Dutch, argues that they would have been extremely unlikely to understand the transaction as a "sale." [9] Other sources date the transaction to May 6, 1626. [11] Dutch land patents traced their title to such a purchase. [12] The colony's "New Project of Freedoms and Exemptions" (1629) prohibited private purchases of land from the indigenous population; a privilege reserved only for the Patroons of New Netherland. [13] An amendment in 1640 gave preference "in the selections of land" to those who notified the Company. [14] The Patroons' reports to the States General refer to other land purchases in June 1634, October 25, 1634, and 1651. [15]

Province of New York

The British concluded the Treaty of Fort Stanwix with the Iroquois in 1768, bringing the boundary line of the colony into conformity with the Royal Proclamation of 1763. The method of purchasing lands established in that treaty was codified in the 1777 Constitution of New York. [16]

Articles of Confederation-era

During the Articles of Confederation-era, New York purchased a large amount of land from the Iroquois without complying with the requirements of the Confederation Congress Proclamation of 1783. Two-hundred years later, the Second Circuit held that the Confederation Congress had neither the intent nor the authority to restrict such purchased by states within their borders. [17]

New York and Massachusetts had long-disputed the property and sovereign rights to modern-day western New York. [18] They resolved their differences in 1786 with the Treaty of Hartford, granting the property rights to Massachusetts and the sovereign rights to New York. [18] In 1788, Oliver Phelps and Nathaniel Gorham acquired the pre-emptive rights to western New York from the state of Massachusetts in what became known as the Phelps and Gorham Purchase. [18]

Post-Constitution

Samuel Kirkland, missionary to the Oneidas turned land speculator Samuel Kirkland by Augustus Rockwell detail.jpg
Samuel Kirkland, missionary to the Oneidas turned land speculator

President George Washington gave the following speech to the Seneca Nation of New York in 1790, after the passage of the Nonintercourse Act:

I am not uninformed that the six Nations have been led into some difficulties with respect to the sale of their lands since the peace. But I must inform you that these evils arose before the present government of the United States was established, when the separate States and individuals under their authority, undertook to treat with the (Native) tribes respecting the sale of their lands. But the case is now entirely altered. The general Government only has the power, to treat with the (Native) Nations, and any treaty formed and held without its authority will not be binding. Here then is the security for the remainder of your lands. No State nor person can purchase your lands, unless at some public treaty held under the authority of the United States. The general government will never consent to your being defrauded. But it will protect you in all your just rights. [20]

Phelps and Gorham defaulted on their payments to Massachusetts in 1790 and the un-exercised western portion pre-emptive rights reverted to the state in 1791. [18] Massachusetts resold the rights to Robert Morris that year. [18] Morris retained the Morris Reserve for himself and sold the western portion of his rights to the Holland Land Company in 1792 and 1793 (the Holland Purchase).

The state of New York disregarded the requirements of the Nonintercourse Act (that a federal commissioner be present and that any sale of (Native) lands be approved by Congress) and purchased lands directly from Indians within the state until 1846. [21]

According to Prof. Hauptman: "(Native) American, the state's first residents, ended up in a quasicolonial status, dependent on the very people—Albany policymakers—who were responsible for dispossessing them. It is little wonder that the legacy of this colonial relationship in modern times has been the Iroquois land claims movement and that the lead community pushing these claims is the Oneidas . . . ." [22]

Treaties

with the British
TreatyDateTreaty locationTribe(s)Land provisionsNotes
Treaty of Fort Stanwix Nov. 5, 1768 Fort Stanwix Six Nations Line of Property established
with the United States
TreatyDateTreaty locationTribe(s)Land provisionsNotes
Treaty of Fort Stanwix (1784) Oct. 22, 1784 Fort Stanwix Six Nations Defines Western and Northern boundaries [23]
Treaty of Fort McIntosh Jan. 21, 1785 Fort McIntosh (Pennsylvania) Wyandot, Delaware, Chippewa, and Ottawa Defines boundaries and reservationsNever enforced; superseded by treaty of Aug. 3, 1795 at Greenville [24]
Treaty of Fort Harmar Jan. 9, 1789 Fort Harmar (Ohio) Six Nations Modified treaty of Oct. 22, 1784 to protect lands south (in addition to east and north) of ceded lands [25]
Treaty of Canandaigua Nov. 11, 1794 Canandaigua, New York Six Nations Onondaga, Oneida, and Cayuga reserves confirmed; Seneca boundaries defined [26]
Treaty of New York (1796) May 31, 1796 New York City Seven Nations of Canada Seven Nations relinquish all claims in New York outside of two reservations [27]
Treaty of Albany March 29, 1797 Albany, New York Mohawk Mohawks cede to New York all claims in New York [28]
Treaty of Big Tree Sept. 15, 1797 Genesee, New York Seneca Senecas sell Morris Reserve, minus twelve reservations [29]
Treaty of Buffalo Creek (I)June 30, 1802 Buffalo Creek Reservation Seneca Senecas cede two reservations to Holland Land Company in exchange for other lands [30]
Treaty of Buffalo Creek (II)June 30, 1802 Buffalo Creek Reservation Seneca Senecas cede Little Beard's reservation to Phelps, Bronson, and Jones [31]
Treaty of Buffalo Creek (III)Jan. 15, 1838 Buffalo Creek Reservation "Several tribes of the New York (Natives)"Senecas sell to Ogden and Fellows the Buffalo Creek Reservation, Cattaraugus Reserve, Allegany Reservation, and Tonawanda Reservation; Tuscaroras sell reservation to Ogden and Fellows [32]
Treaty of Buffalo Creek (IV)May 20, 1842 Buffalo Creek Reservation Seneca Ogden and Fellows drop claim to Cattaraugus and Allegany reservations [33]
Treaty with the Seneca, Tonawanda Band Nov. 5, 1857 Tonawanda Reservation Tonawanda Band of Seneca Indians Tonawanda Band purchase part of Tonawanda Reservation from Ogden and Fellows and surrender claim to remaining portion [34]
with the State of New York
TreatyDateTreaty locationTribe(s)Land provisionsNotes
1785 Fort Herkimer Oneida 300,000 acres (1,200 km2) in Broome and Chenango counties acquired for $11,500 [35]
Sept. 1788 Fort Schuyler Oneida 5,000,000 acres (20,000 km2) acquired, minus reservations in Madison and Oneida counties, for $5,500 plus a $600 annuity [35]
1790 Oneida 4,000 acres (16 km2) in present-day Utica, New York, granted to Samuel Kirkland and his sons [36]
March 1793 Onondaga Lands around Onondaga Lake; authorized roads [37]
July 27, 1795 Cayuga All Cayuga lands except a parcel around Cayuga Lake [38]
July 28, 1795 Oneida According to Prof. Hauptman, the treaty was the "model for all Albany's efforts to dispossess the Oneidas for the next half-century." [39]
"Salt treaty" 1795 Onondaga [40]
Sept. 15, 1795 Oneida 100,000 acres (400 km2) for $2,952 and $2,952 annuityUtilized state "power of attorney" statute [41]
Oct. 8, 1829 Oneida 1,692 acres (6.85 km2) from "First Christian Party" [42]

State law

Philip Schuyler, the architect of New York's Indian policy Schuyler.jpg
Philip Schuyler, the architect of New York's Indian policy

Constitution

N.Y. Const. of 1777 art. XXXVII provided:

And whereas it is of great importance to the safety of this State that peace and amity with the (Natives) within the same be at all times supported and maintained; and whereas the frauds too often practiced towards the said (Natives), in contracts made for their lands, have, in divers instances, been productive of dangerous discontents and animosities: Be it ordained, that no purchases or contracts for the sale of lands, made since the fourteenth day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five, or which may hereafter be made with or of the said (Natives), within the limits of this State, shall be binding on the said (Natives), or deemed valid, unless made under the authority and with the consent of the legislature of this State. [16]

N.Y. Const. of 1821 art. VII, § 12 provided:

[(Native) lands.]—No purchase or contract for the sale of lands in this state, made since the fourteenth day of October, one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five, or which may hereafter be made, of or with the (Natives) in this state, shall be valid, unless made under the authority, and with the consent, of the legislature. [43]

N.Y. Const. of 1846 art. I, § 16 provided:

[(Natives) lands.]—No purchase or contract for the sale of lands in this state, made since the fourteenth day of October, one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five, or which may hereafter be made, of or with the (Natives), shall be valid unless made under the authority and with the consent of the legislature. [44]

N.Y. Const. of 1894 art. 1, § 15 and N.Y. Const. of 1938 art I. § 13 provided:

[Purchase of lands of (Natives).]—No purchase or contract for the sale of lands in this State, made since the fourteenth day of October, one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five; or which may hereafter be made, of, or with the (natives), shall be valid, unless made under the authority, and with the consent of the Legislature. [45]

§ 13 was repealed on November 6, 1962, by popular vote.

Statutes

The New York legislature passed two laws in 1784 and 1785 for the "settlement of the waste and unappropriated lands"; the laws created methods to advertise and distribute (Native) lands to private citizens, even before the aboriginal title was extinguished. [46]

Legislation enforcing the constitutional prohibition with sanctions was not passed until 1788. [47]

In Feb. 1798, the legislature passed an act "Authorizing the Governor to Appoint Commissioners to treat with the Oneida (Natives) for the purchase of part of their lands." [48]

The Act of March 31, 1821, provided:

[I]t shall be unlawful for any person or persons, other than (Natives), to settle or reside upon any lands belonging to or occupied by any nation or tribe of (Natives) within this state; and that all leases, contracts and agreements made by any (Natives), whereby any person or persons, other than (Natives), shall be permitted to reside upon such lands, shall be absolutely void; and if any person or persons shall settle or reside on any such lands, contrary to this act, it shall be the duty of any judge of any court of Common Pleas of the county within which such lands shall be situated, on complaint made to him, and on due proof of the fact of such settlement or residence, to issue his warrant, under his hand and seal, directed to the sheriff of such county, commanding him, within ten days after the receipt thereof, to remove such person or persons so settling or residing, with his, her or their families, from such lands. [49]

Case law

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 Banner, 2005, at 75.
  2. ↑ Gunther, 1958, at 3--7.
  3. ↑ Vecsey & Starna, 1988, at 144.
  4. ↑ Vecsey & Starna, 1988, at 145.
  5. ↑ Kathryn E. Fort, The New Laches: Creating Title where None Existed, 16 Geo. Mason L. Rev. 357 (2009); Patrick W. Wandres, Native Land Claims, Sherrill and the Impending Legacy of the Doctrine of Laches, 31 Native Am. L. Rev. 131 (2006).
  6. ↑ Oneida Nation of N.Y. v. County of Oneida, 617 F.3d 114 (2d Cir. 2010); Onondaga Nation v. New York, 2010 WL 3806492 (N.D.N.Y. 2010); Shinnecock Nation v. New York, 2006 WL 3501099 (E.D.N.Y. 2006).
  7. ↑ Royce, 1971, at 575.
  8. ↑ 1 N.Y. Colonial Doc. 37.
  9. 1 2 Banner, 2005, at 76.
  10. ↑ Felix S. Cohen, Original Indian Title, 32 Minn. L. Rev. 28, 38--39 (1947).
  11. ↑ Martha J. Lamb, History of the City of New York 53.
  12. ↑ See, e.g. 1 N.Y. Colonial Doc. 44 (patent issued to Kiliaen Van Rensselaer).
  13. ↑ 2 N.Y. Colonial Doc. 96--100.
  14. ↑ 2 N.Y. Colonial Doc. 119.
  15. ↑ Royce, 1971, at 577--78.
  16. 1 2 N.Y. Const. of 1777 art. XXXVII.
  17. ↑ Oneida Nation of New York v. New York, 649 F. Supp. 420 (N.D.N.Y. 1986), aff'd 860 F.2d 1145 (2d Cir. 1988), cert. denied, 493 U.S. 871 (1989).
  18. 1 2 3 4 5 Hauptman, 2001, at 88.
  19. ↑ Hauptman, 2001, at 69--74.
  20. ↑ 4 American State Papers 142 (1823). Text
  21. ↑ Hauptman, 2001, at 7, 47.
  22. ↑ Hauptman, 2001, at 220.
  23. ↑ 7 Stat. 15; see Royce, 1971, at 648--49.
  24. ↑ 7 Stat. 16; see Royce, 1971, at 648--49.
  25. ↑ 7 Stat. 33; see Royce, 1971 at 650--53.
  26. ↑ 7 Stat. 44; see Royce, 1971, at 652--55.
  27. ↑ 7 Stat. 55; see Royce, 1971, at 656--57.
  28. ↑ 7 Stat. 61; see Royce, 1971, at 658--59.
  29. ↑ 7 Stat. 601; see Royce, 1971, at 658--61.
  30. ↑ 7 Stat. 70; see Royce, 1971, at 662--63.
  31. ↑ 7 Stat. 72; see Royce, 1971, at 662--63.
  32. ↑ 7 Stat. 550; see Royce, 1971, at 768--773.
  33. ↑ 7 Stat. 586; see Royce, 1971, at 776--77.
  34. ↑ 11 Stat. 735; see Royce, 1971, at 818--19.
  35. 1 2 Hauptman, 2001, at 66.
  36. ↑ Hauptman, 2001, at 70.
  37. ↑ Hauptman, 2001, at 77-78.
  38. ↑ Hauptman, 2001, at 77.
  39. ↑ Hauptman, 2001, at 67, 76--77.
  40. ↑ Hauptman, 2001, at 78.
  41. ↑ Hauptman, 2001, at 80.
  42. ↑ Hauptman, 2001, at 86.
  43. ↑ N.Y. Const. of 1821 art. VII, § 12.
  44. ↑ N.Y. Const. of 1846 art. I, § 16.
  45. ↑ N.Y. Const. of 1938 art I. § 13; N.Y. Const. of 1894 art. 1, § 15.
  46. ↑ Hauptman, 2001, at 63.
  47. ↑ Laws of Colonial and State Governments in Regard to (Native) Affairs 63--65.
  48. ↑ Laws of New York, chap. 23 (Feb. 26, 1798); see Hauptman, 2001, at 95--96.
  49. ↑ Laws of 1821, 183, §§ 1, 5 (current version at McKinney's (Native) Law § 8 (2000)).
  50. ↑ See Hauptman, 2001, at 200--01, 204.

Related Research Articles

The Seneca are a group of Indigenous Iroquoian-speaking people who historically lived south of Lake Ontario, one of the five Great Lakes in North America. Their nation was the farthest to the west within the Six Nations or Iroquois League (Haudenosaunee) in New York before the American Revolution. For this reason, they are called “The Keepers of the Western Door.”

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phelps and Gorham Purchase</span> 1788 Massachusetts / New York land transfer

The Phelps and Gorham Purchase was the sale, in 1788, of a portion of a large tract of land in western New York State owned by the Seneca nation of the Iroquois Confederacy to a syndicate of land developers led by Oliver Phelps and Nathaniel Gorham. The larger tract of land is generally known as the "Genesee tract" and roughly encompasses all that portion of New York State west of Seneca Lake, consisting of about 6,000,000 acres (24,000 km2).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oneida people</span> Ethnic group in North America

The Oneida people are a Native American tribe and First Nations band. They are one of the five founding nations of the Iroquois Confederacy in the area of upstate New York, particularly near the Great Lakes.

The Nonintercourse Act is the collective name given to six statutes passed by the United States Congress in 1790, 1793, 1796, 1799, 1802, and 1834 to set boundaries of American Indian reservations. The various acts were also intended to regulate commerce between White Americans and citizens of Indigenous nations. The most notable provisions of the act regulate the inalienability of aboriginal title in the United States, a continuing source of litigation for almost 200 years. The prohibition on purchases of Indian lands without the approval of the federal government has its origins in the Royal Proclamation of 1763 and the Confederation Congress Proclamation of 1783.

There are four treaties of Buffalo Creek, named for the Buffalo River in New York. The Second Treaty of Buffalo Creek, also known as the Treaty with the New York Indians, 1838, was signed on January 15, 1838 between the Seneca Nation, Mohawk nation, Cayuga nation, Oneida Indian Nation, Onondaga (tribe), Tuscarora (tribe) and the United States. It covered land sales of tribal reservations under the U.S. Indian Removal program, by which they planned to move most eastern tribes to Kansas Territory west of the Mississippi River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cayuga Nation of New York</span> Federally recognized tribe of Cayuga people, based in New York, United States

The Cayuga Nation of New York is a federally recognized tribe of Cayuga people, based in New York, United States. Other organized tribes with Cayuga members are the federally recognized Seneca-Cayuga Tribe of Oklahoma and the Canadian-recognized Six Nations of the Grand River First Nation in Ontario, Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Governor Blacksnake</span> Seneca nation War Chief

Tah-won-ne-ahs or Thaonawyuthe, known in English as either Chainbreaker to his own people or Governor Blacksnake to the European settlers, was a Seneca war chief and sachem. Along with other Iroquois war chiefs, he led warriors to fight on the side of the British during the American Revolutionary War from 1777 to 1783. He was prominent for his role at the Battle of Oriskany, in which the Loyalist and allied forces ambushed a force of Patriots. After the war, he supported his maternal uncle, Handsome Lake, as a prominent religious leader. Chainbreaker allied with the United States in the War of 1812 and later encouraged some accommodation to European-American settlers, allowing missionaries and teachers on the Seneca reservation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oneida Nation of Wisconsin</span> Native American tribe

The Oneida Nation is a federally recognized tribe of Oneida people in Wisconsin. The tribe's reservation spans parts of two counties west of the Green Bay metropolitan area. The reservation was established by treaty in 1838, and was allotted to individual New York Oneida tribal members as part of an agreement with the U.S. government. The land was individually owned until the tribe was formed under the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934.

Federal Power Commission v. Tuscarora Indian Nation, 362 U.S. 99 (1960), was a case decided by the United States Supreme Court that determined that the Federal Power Commission was authorized to take lands owned by the Tuscarora Indian tribe by eminent domain under the Federal Power Act for a hydroelectric power project, upon payment of just compensation.

City of Sherrill v. Oneida Indian Nation of New York, 544 U.S. 197 (2005), was a Supreme Court of the United States case in which the Court held that repurchase of traditional tribal lands 200 years later did not restore tribal sovereignty to that land. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote the majority opinion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aboriginal title in the United States</span> First country to recognize aboriginal title

The United States was the first jurisdiction to acknowledge the common law doctrine of aboriginal title. Native American tribes and nations establish aboriginal title by actual, continuous, and exclusive use and occupancy for a "long time." Individuals may also establish aboriginal title, if their ancestors held title as individuals. Unlike other jurisdictions, the content of aboriginal title is not limited to historical or traditional land uses. Aboriginal title may not be alienated, except to the federal government or with the approval of Congress. Aboriginal title is distinct from the lands Native Americans own in fee simple and occupy under federal trust.

Oneida Indian Nation of New York v. County of Oneida, 414 U.S. 661 (1974), is a landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court concerning aboriginal title in the United States. The original suit in this matter was the first modern-day Native American land claim litigated in the federal court system rather than before the Indian Claims Commission. It was also the first to go to final judgement.

County of Oneida v. Oneida Indian Nation of New York State, 470 U.S. 226 (1985), was a landmark United States Supreme Court case concerning aboriginal title in the United States. The case, sometimes referred to as Oneida II, was "the first Indian land claim case won on the basis of the Nonintercourse Act."

Seneca Nation of Indians v. Christy, 162 U.S. 283 (1896), was the first litigation of aboriginal title in the United States by a tribal plaintiff in the Supreme Court of the United States since Cherokee Nation v. Georgia (1831). It was the first such litigation by an indigenous plaintiff since Fellows v. Blacksmith (1857) and its companion case of New York ex rel. Cutler v. Dibble (1858). The New York courts held that the 1788 Phelps and Gorham Purchase did not violate the Nonintercourse Act, one of the provisions of which prohibits purchases of Indian lands without the approval of the federal government, and that the Seneca Nation of New York was barred by the state statute of limitations from challenging the transfer of title. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the merits of lower court ruling because of the adequate and independent state grounds doctrine.

Confederation Congress Proclamation of 1783 was a proclamation by the Congress of the Confederation dated September 22, 1783 prohibiting the extinguishment of aboriginal title in the United States without the consent of the federal government. The policy underlying the proclamation was inaugurated by the Proclamation of 1763, and continued after the ratification of the United States Constitution by the Nonintercourse Acts of 1790, 1793, 1796, 1799, 1802, and 1833.

Fellows v. Blacksmith, 60 U.S. 366 (1857), is a United States Supreme Court decision involving Native American law. John Blacksmith, a Tonawanda Seneca, sued agents of the Ogden Land Company for common law claims of trespass, assault, and battery after he was forcibly evicted from his sawmill by the Company's agents. The Court affirmed a judgement in Blacksmith's favor, notwithstanding the fact that the Seneca had executed an Indian removal treaty and the Company held the exclusive right to purchase to the land by virtue of an interstate compact ratified by Congress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laura Cornelius Kellogg</span> Oneida leader, author, orator, activist and visionary

Laura Cornelius Kellogg ("Minnie") ("Wynnogene"), was an Oneida leader, author, orator, activist and visionary. Kellogg, a descendant of distinguished Oneida leaders, was a founder of the Society of American Indians. Kellogg was an advocate for the renaissance and sovereignty of the Six Nations of the Iroquois, and fought for communal tribal lands, tribal autonomy and self-government. Popularly known as "Indian Princess Wynnogene," Kellogg was the voice of the Oneidas and Haudenosaunee people in national and international forums. During the 1920s and 1930s, Kellogg and her husband, Orrin J. Kellogg, pursued land claims in New York on behalf of the Six Nations people. Kellogg's "Lolomi Plan" was a Progressive Era alternative to Bureau of Indian Affairs control emphasizing indigenous American self-sufficiency, cooperative labor and organization, and capitalization of labor. According to historian Laurence Hauptman, "Kellogg helped transform the modern Iroquois, not back into their ancient League, but into major actors, activists and litigants in the modern world of the 20th century Indian politics."

The Third Treaty of Buffalo Creek or Treaty with the Seneca of 1842 signed by the U.S. and the Seneca Nation modified the Second Treaty of Buffalo Creek. This reflected that the Ogden Company had purchased only two of the four Seneca reservations, the Buffalo Creek and Tonawanda reservations, that the Senecas had agreed to sell in the Second Treaty; it thus restored native title to the Allegany, Cattaraugus and Oil Springs reservations.

The Everett Report of 1922 was a New York State Assembly report compiled by a legislative commission led by Edward A. Everett. It concluded that "the Iroquois were fraudulently dispossessed of over six million acres of land in New York." However, the report was "buried" by New York State and not published until 1971.

Mary Cornelius Winder was a Native American activist who wrote a series of letters to the federal government related to Oneida Indian Nation ancestral land claims.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.