A Voice from the Eastern Door
Akwesasne Notes
Policies of Oppression in the Name of “Democracy”
Economic History of the Haudenosaunee
Continued from last week.
Throughout this period many other Native peoples had been moving into our territories to gain some respite from the colonial onslaught. Far to the South, in the colonized area known as the Carolinas, the Tuscarora were faced with imminent destruction. In their drive to gain some more land and economic advantage, English colonizers were using the same techniques which were being employed in the Northeast. In 1713 the dispossessed Tuscaroras withdrew from their homelands and sought protection in the territories of the Haudenosaunee. They were not the only people who were displaced. Delawares, Tuteloes, Shawnee, and others fled to the Haudenosaunee lands seeking peace,
Peace, however, was not to be. At the approach of the American revolution, the Haudenosaunee did everything possible to remain neutral. With the decline of France, and the increasing decline in the importance of trade, the settler bourgeoisie of the Anglo colonies cast an increasingly envious eye on the lands of the Longhouse. Still our military power was formidable, and our resolve was to remain neutral.
The policy of England, however, was to involve the Haudenosaunee in the war. To accomplish this goal, they resorted to bribery, trickery, false propaganda, and emotional appeal. The Haudenosaunee continued its policy of neutrality throughout. Both the colonists and the “Loyalists” entered our territories in search of mercenaries. The Loyalist strategy was the more successful. They were able to draw some of our people into a battle with the revolting colonists.
The Treaty of Ghent, which ended the war, made no provision, at least in writing for the Native nations, which the British Crown had solemnly promised to protect. Thus, the representatives of the People of the Longhouse held an international treaty meeting with the new federation called the United States of America in September of 1784. The U.S. demanded huge cessions of territory, especially from the Senecas. The warriors who had been delegated to the meeting eventually signed the treaty. However, they had not been authorized to commit the Haudenosaunee without consulting them. For a time, the terms of the treaty were not known, as the U.S. would not provide the Haudenosaunee with a copy of the document. As many Native people know, to their regret, signing a treaty and the ratification of a treaty are two separate acts, each necessary before a treaty becomes valid. Although the U. S. Congress ratified the treaty, the legislative council of the Haudenosaunee met at Buffalo Creek and renounced the agreement.
Somehow the United States takes the position that the Haudenosaunee ceased to exist by the year 1784, although the Longhouse has continued to this day. There is ample evidence that all the nations continued to participate in the matters of the Great Council, the legislative body of the Confederacy. None of the nations of the league has ever declared themselves separate from the Confederation. The Oneidas, whose reputed allegiance to the United States was based on the existence of Oneida mercenaries, continued to send their delegates to the council, and the Tuscarora remain firmly attached to the League. The Onondagas, Senecas, Cayugas and Mohawks continue to hold their positions within the League. Although the Haudenosaunee have been severely disrupted by the Westward expansion of the United States, the subsequent surrounding of their lands, and the attempts to devour its people, the Six Nations Confederacy continues to function. Indeed, today its strength continues to be increasing.
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