Land area
Land of the Seneka in New York, ceded 1838 (area 40)
- 1797
Set aside as a reservation
- 1838
Ceded to the United States
- 1842
Earlier terms confirmed
- 1857
Taken back by the United States
In the record
Kept by the Seneka as the Tonawanda tract in 1797, sold to Ogden and Fellows in 1838 and confirmed in 1842; the Tonawanda band bought back about 7,550 acres under the 1857 treaty. The area covers about 67 thousand acres in what is now New York.
How it was taken: not stated. The Historical Society of the New York Courts records the Tonawanda Seneca's position that the treaty was invalid because their sachem was not a party to it.
Written from the records linked here; open any of them for its sources.
Shapes come from C. C. Royce’s 1899 maps as georeferenced by the US Forest Service. They are approximate and are not legal descriptions of land. Royce recorded land the United States treated as ceded; the shape does not show a nation’s territory.
Who is doing the work
This history belongs to living nations. Start with them:
Working with these nations
- Oneida Indian Nation Nation government About 18,000 acres in trust (2022 est.), 25,000-acre cap under 2013 agreement
- Rematriation Native-led Indigenous women-led media, education, community advocacy Give on their site Website
- The Nature Conservancy (TNC) Allied land trust Funder/partner in several tribal land returns Website
Land return and Native-led work nearby
- Shinnecock Kelp Farmers Native-led Indigenous kelp farming and Shinnecock Bay restoration Give on their site Website
Native legal and land defense, nationally
- Native American Rights Fund (NARF) Native-led Litigation and legal advocacy for tribal sovereignty, treaty rights, land and resources Give on their site Website
- NDN Collective (LANDBACK Campaign) Native-led LANDBACK campaign (launched 2020; Mount Rushmore closure and return of Black Hills public lands), Indigenous… Give on their site Website
- Indian Land Tenure Foundation (ILTF) Native-led Land recovery and control by tribes and individual Indian landowners Website
- Decolonizing Wealth Project (Indigenous Earth Fund; California Tribal Land Return) Native-led Reparative philanthropy Give on their site Website
Gifts go straight to each organization; this atlas takes nothing. Listing is not endorsement: how organizations are listed.
Connections
Links marked “suggested” were matched automatically by name or date and have not yet been reviewed by a person.
Agreements recorded for this land 4
- Agreement (Treaty of Big Tree) with the Seneca, 17971797suggested
- Treaty of Buffalo Creek with the New York Indians, 18381838suggested
- Seneca at Buffalo Creek, New York (1842)1842suggested
- Treaty of Tonawanda Band of Seneca, 18571857suggested
Nations named for this land 3, matched by the Forest Service, under review
- Cayugasuggested
- Senecasuggested
- Tonawanda Band of Senecasuggested
Located in 1
Sources
- Royce, Indian Land Cessions (1899), Schedule entry dated 1797-09-15primary record
- Kappler, Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties, text for 1797-09-15primary record
- Royce, Indian Land Cessions (1899), Schedule entry dated 1838-01-15primary record
- Kappler, Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties, text for 1838-01-15primary record
- Royce, Indian Land Cessions (1899), Schedule entry dated 1842-05-20primary record
- Kappler, Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties, text for 1842-05-20primary record
- Royce, Indian Land Cessions (1899), Schedule entry dated 1857-11-05primary record
- Kappler, Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties, text for 1857-11-05primary record
- Royce’s map sheet: New York (Library of Congress)primary record
- USDA Forest Service, Tribal Lands Ceded to the United States (digitized Royce maps)reference work
The record’s fields
- Area number in the 1899 record
- 40
- Dates in the 1899 record
- 1797-09-15; 1838-01-15; 1842-05-20; 1857-11-05
- Kind of instrument
- Treaty or agreement
- Peoples as named in the 1899 record
- Seneka
- States
- NY
- Counties
- Erie; Genesee
- Map sheets in the 1899 record
- New York
- Geometry
- Approximate shape from Royce’s 1899 maps
Research notes
geometry_role is 'cession' for every USFS feature: no field in the source distinguishes cessions from reservations.
- Kind
- Land area
- Confidence
- Medium