The Canandaigua Fire Must Be Preserved

The annual commemoration of the 1794 Canandaigua Treaty is one of the

most important gatherings of the Haudenosaunee. It reminds us of a

time when our concerns were paramount in the US which, in response to

our complaints about the massive theft of our lands, sent Timothy

Pickering to negotiate a treaty of peace and friendship.

The Americans were not acting out of a genuine concern for the

Iroquois but in their own self interests. The US was involved in a

military campaign against the native nations in the midwest and wanted

the Confederacy to stay out of the conflict. But even as Canandaigua

was being negotiated land speculators were scheming to defraud the

Iroquois out of millions of acres of land.

We must not forget who those men were: Philip Schuyler, Alexander

Macomb, Robert Morris, Caleb Benton, David Ogden, Theophile Cazenove,

George Scriba, DeWitt Clinton, Stephen Van Rensselaer, Jonas Platt,

Rufus King, Rev. Samuel Kirkland, James Dean, John Livingston, Oliver

Phelps, Peter Smith, Abraham Wemple.

These men, in concert with state and federal officials conspired to

undermine the Confederacy then alienate us from our lands. They sought

to become rich at our expense and used every device at their command to

do so including the manipulation, bribery and intimidation of Iroquois

leaders.

Among those who signed land cession deals were Joseph Brant, John

Deseronto, Skenandoa, Red Jacket, Handsome Lake,Cornplanter and Fish

Carrier.

The Iroquois were under crushing pressures after the Revolution. New

York had systematically parceled out Native lands before the war was

concluded by the Treaty of Paris and made it clear that any attempt by

the Iroquois to expel the thousands of settlers invading Native

territory would be met with force.

Other factors in the land sales included the use of alcohol during

negotiations so some of those who affixed their marks to these

“treaties” were drunk. Others such as Brant took bribes and payoffs

while some, like Louis Cook, were given lucrative concessions to assess

road tolls or fees for river ferries.

No Iroquois nation or community was immune from these tactics which

makes the Canandaigua treaty remarkable for it is the singular instance

when the Confederacy acted in concert to protect what they had left and

to insure their exclusive jurisdiction over our remaining lands.

A drive through New York State today is a painful reminder to the

Iroquois of what we have lost. Counties, towns, parks and schools are

named in “honor” of those who would, under current laws, face criminal

charges for the blatant manner in which they bribed officials to secure

their land purchase options.

We have to endure this shame whenever we pass through Schuyler Falls,

Cazenovia, Deansboro, Dewitt, Ogdensburg, Morrisville, Kirkland,

Scriba, Plattsburgh or Phelps. It is as if the mapmakers and

politicians of that time were determined to elevate greed, obscure our

presence and create the myth that these crooks deserved to have a

permanent legacy as founders of the “empire state”.

Given this perversion of history it should come as no surprise that

the current administration in Albany has elected to adopt the same

tactics in dealing with Native people.

Confrontation, misinformation, intimidation and bribery are used today

just as they were seven generations ago. Now the state wants us to

surrender the last shreds of our aboriginal sovereignty for gambling

compacts which it uses as bait to have us compromise on our land

claims. When that does not work the state creates and empowers its own

Iroquois puppets to foster internal divisions and place our lands in

federal “trust” which amounts to the death of our independence.

By rallying around Canandaigua we can tell New York State we will not

stand by and allow this most important of treaties to be broken. By

marching in support of Canandaigua we affirm our freedom and our

separateness.

But it is critical to note that Canandaigua applies to the Iroquois as

a whole and no individual nation has the right to use it without the

consent of the entire Confederacy. It does not apply to those groups

which separated from the Confederacy of their own volition, whether

that is the Oneida Nation of New York, Inc, or factions among the

Senecas, Cayugas or Mohawks.

Only those who put into the single bowl may take from it the means to

sustain their well being and Canandaigua is that bowl.