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Treaty of Fort Stanwix (1784), Six Nations

In 1784 the Six Nations gave up claims west of a Fort Stanwix boundary and handed over hostages; a council later rejected the treaty.

Signed
October 22, 1784
Senate
Ratified
Land given up
about 8.9 million acres
Promises
1 of 1 broken or only partly kept
The land in this treaty’s record. Open on the map

What happened

On October 22, 1784, Oliver Wolcott, Richard Butler and Arthur Lee, commissioners of the United States, concluded articles at Fort Stanwix with "the Sachems and Warriors of the Six Nations." The United States agreed to "give peace to the Senecas, Mohawks, Onondagas and Cayugas, and receive them into their protection upon the following conditions."

The conditions were these. Six hostages were to stay with the United States until all prisoners taken in the war were delivered up. The Oneida and Tuscarora nations were to be "secured in the possession of the lands on which they are settled." A line running from near Niagara to the Ohio River became the western boundary of the Six Nations' lands, and they "yield to the United States, all claims to the country west of the said boundary," reserving only six miles square round the fort of Oswego for the United States. The commissioners also promised to order goods for the Six Nations.

EBSCO says the Treaty of Paris of 1783 had ignored Iroquois land claims, the war had divided the Six Nations, and only one sachem signed. The next day Pennsylvania officials secured their own cession of much of northwestern Pennsylvania for $5,000 in continental scrip. EBSCO says the Six Nations council "ultimately rejected the treaty, viewing it as coerced and unrepresentative of their collective will."

EBSCO also says that in 1785 New York officials began a process that eventually extinguished Oneida title to their lands in New York.

What was promised, and what happened

  • Broken

    The Oneida (and Tuscarora) would be secured in possession of the lands on which they were settled. (Art. II)

    In 1785 New York officials began a process that eventually extinguished Oneida title to their lands in New York. ebsco.com

Summarized with AI assistance from 4 sources and checked against their words; not yet reviewed by historians or by the nations. Report an error

What the sources say, and how this was checked

Supported by the sources below; some details rest on one source.

  1. give peace to the Senecas, Mohawks, Onondagas and Cayugas, and receive them into their protection upon the following conditionsTribal Treaties Database: Treaty of Fort Stanwix (1784) - Six Nations (Oklahoma State University Libraries)
  2. the Six Nations shall and do yield to the United States, all claims to the country west of the said boundaryTribal Treaties Database: Treaty of Fort Stanwix (1784) - Six Nations (Oklahoma State University Libraries)
  3. the Six Nations council ultimately rejected the treaty, viewing it as coerced and unrepresentative of their collective willTreaty of Fort Stanwix - EBSCO Research Starters
  4. In 1785 New York officials began a process that eventually extinguished Oneida title to their lands in New York.Treaty of Fort Stanwix - EBSCO Research Starters

Research notes. EBSCO describes objections by the Six Nations council as a whole, not by one nation. EBSCO gives the council dates as October 12-23, 1784; the treaty is dated October 22.

What the treaty did to the land

About 8.9 million acres given up. Each shape is a numbered area in the federal government’s 1899 record of land cessions.

What happened next

Everything the record holds about this land and this treaty, in order: what earlier agreements said, what this one did, and what the United States, the courts and the nations did afterwards.

  1. 1784

    This treaty

    About 8.9 million acres ceded to the United States by the Six Nations

    In 1784 the Six Nations gave up claims west of a Fort Stanwix boundary and handed over hostages; a council later rejected the treaty.

  2. 1784

    Promise broken

    Fort Stanwix 1784: cession by Haudenosaunee delegates who lacked authority

    At Fort Stanwix in 1784 Six Nations delegates yielded claims west of a line; the Six Nations never ratified it, and 1789 renewed it.

  3. 1790

    Law

    Trade and Intercourse (Nonintercourse) Acts, 1790-1802

    Starting in 1790, Congress barred purchases of Indian land without federal approval, the root of the Nonintercourse Act used in later land claims.

  4. 1795

    Promise broken

    Oneida land (New York): 1795 sale without federal approval

    The US promised not to disturb Oneida land and required federal approval of sales; New York bought most of it in 1795.

  5. 1834

    Law

    Trade and Intercourse Act of 1834

    The 1834 Trade and Intercourse Act made any purchase of Indian land invalid unless made by federal treaty, a rule still codified today.

  6. 1970

    Land returned

    Oneida Indian Nation reacquisition and trust applications

    The Oneida Nation has bought back old New York reservation land; the Supreme Court said purchase alone doesn't restore sovereignty.

  7. 1974

    In court

    Oneida Indian Nation v. County of Oneida (Oneida I)

    In 1974 the Supreme Court unanimously held that the Oneidas' claim to land ceded to New York in 1795 arises under federal law.

  8. 1985

    In court

    Oneida County v. Oneida Indian Nation (Oneida II)

    In 1985 the Supreme Court held that the Oneidas may sue under federal common law for land conveyed to New York in 1795.

  9. 2005

    In court

    City of Sherrill v. Oneida Indian Nation of New York

    The Oneida Nation could not revive tribal sovereignty over old reservation land it bought back, so the city could tax it.

The law behind it

The legal ideas behind the decisions, and related records without a date. Court cases and laws with a date are in what happened next, above.

  • Legal doctrine

    indian country

    Federal law defines 'Indian country' as reservations, dependent Indian communities and Indian allotments; the definition decides which government's laws apply.

  • Legal doctrine

    indian title

    Indian title is a tribe's right to occupy land, which only the United States may extinguish; courts enforce it through the Nonintercourse Act.

  • Legal doctrine

    laches

    Laches bars claims after long delay; courts applied it to the Oneida sovereignty bid in Sherrill and the Cayuga land claim.

  • Legal doctrine

    land into trust

    Land into trust is the process by which the United States holds land for a tribe or Indian, using Interior's IRA section 5 authority.

  • Legal doctrine

    canons of construction

    Courts read ambiguous treaties in favor of tribes and as the Indians would have understood them, rules the Supreme Court has repeated for more than a century.

  • Legal doctrine

    nonintercourse

    The Nonintercourse Act, 25 U.S.C. 177, voids any purchase of Indian land not made by federal treaty or convention, and still anchors land claims.

  • Legal doctrine

    aboriginal title

    Aboriginal title is Native nations' right to land held before European arrival; unrecognized title can be ended without payment.

Who is doing the work today

The nations connected to this treaty come first, then groups returning land and defending treaty rights. Support goes directly to them.

Working with these nations

Native legal and land defense, nationally

Gifts go straight to each organization; this atlas takes nothing. Listing is not endorsement: how organizations are listed.

Sources

  1. digitreaties.org/treaties/treaty/183304376reference work
Research notes

Seneca and others later disputed the authority of signatories. Articles confirmed via OSU TTD.

Shapes are approximate and are not legal descriptions of land, title or jurisdiction.