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Violation

Treaty of Buffalo Creek (1838): sale of Seneca reservations and the 1842 and 1857 corrections

Not yet reviewed by this nation. What follows comes from public records and research. It does not speak for the nation.

The 1838 Buffalo Creek treaty tied removal to the sale of Seneca reservations; the sale was never carried out at Tonawanda, and later treaties reworked it.

Treaty
Treaty of Buffalo Creek (1838); Treaty with the Seneca (1842); Treaty with the Tonawanda Band (1857)
Nations
Seneca Nation (Seneca Nation of Indians) and Tonawanda Band of Seneca; other New York nations
When
1838-1842
Land affected
Buffalo Creek reservation (and, until 1857, most of Tonawanda). Allegany and Cattaraugus retained.

What happened

The Treaty of Buffalo Creek (Jan. 15, 1838; 7 Stat. 550) was made between commissioner Ransom H. Gillet and "the chiefs, head men and warriors of the several tribes of New York Indians." The tribes gave up their Green Bay lands and the United States set aside land in Indian Territory as a "future home" for the Senecas, Onondagas, Cayugas, Tuscaroras, Oneidas, St. Regis, Stockbridges, Munsees and Brothertowns. The treaty also recites that Thomas L. Ogden and Joseph Fellows, assignees of Massachusetts, had bought Seneca claims to certain lands, with the price given as two hundred and two thousand dollars.

The Seneca sale covered four New York reservations, the 1842 treaty says: Buffalo Creek, Cattaraugus, Allegany and Tonawanda. That treaty records "divers questions and differences" over the sale. It let the Seneca Nation keep the Cattaraugus and Allegany reservations, and granted Buffalo Creek and Tonawanda to Ogden and Fellows. The 1857 Tonawanda Band treaty says that "for divers reasons and differences" the earlier treaties "remain unexecuted" for Tonawanda. In it the band gave up its claims to western land and removal, the United States agreed to pay $256,000, and the band was allowed to buy back its reservation from Ogden and Fellows.

This is context about a sale that the government itself later said was never carried out at Tonawanda, not a court ruling. The database lists the Tonawanda Band of Seneca, Seneca Nation of Indians and Seneca-Cayuga Nation as successors.

Summarized with AI assistance from 3 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

Well supported by the sources below.

  1. a future home for the following tribes, to wit: The Senecas, Onondagas, Cayugas, Tuscaroras, Oneidas, St. Regis, Stockbridges, Munsees, and BrothertownsTreaty with the New York Indians, 1838 (Buffalo Creek), 7 Stat. 550, Tribal Treaties Database
  2. divers questions and differences having arisen between the chiefs and headmen of the Seneca nation of IndiansTreaty with the Seneca, 1842, 7 Stat. 586, Tribal Treaties Database
  3. the said treaties remain unexecuted as to the said Tonawanda reservation, and the band of Senecas residing thereonTreaty with the Seneca, Tonawanda Band, 1857, 11 Stat. 735, Tribal Treaties Database

Research notes. Not confirmed in sources read: that Tonawanda chiefs were not consulted or did not sign, bribery or forged consent, the Quaker role, and the Senate margin; all are omitted. The 1838 treaty text says the new home was in "Indian Territory" west of the Missouri; the input said Kansas Territory. Input said the 1838 treaty covered four Seneca reservations; the 1842 text confirms the sale covered four (Buffalo Creek, Cattaraugus, Allegany, Tonawanda).

Not statedShapes from the 1899 federal record: approximate, not legal boundaries.

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Connections

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Nations named 3

Concerns the instrument 2

Located in 1

Policy era 1

Sources

  1. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonawanda_Band_of_Senecapointer
  2. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Buffalo_Creekpointer
The record’s fields
What happened
Treaty of Buffalo Creek (1838): sale of Seneca reservations and the 1842 and 1857 corrections -- The Jan. 15, 1838 treaty, signed by the U.S. and nine New York nations as part of the removal program, acknowledged that the Ogden Land Company would buy the four remaining Seneca reservations in New York, with proceeds to fund removal to Kansas Territory. The Tonawanda Seneca said they were not consulted and that their chiefs did not sign; they refused to leave. A 1842 treaty modified the 1838 agreement: the Ogden Company had bought only two reservations (including Tonawanda), and the Seneca kept Cattaraugus and Allegany. In 1857 the Tonawanda Band's separate treaty let it use its share of the earlier sale to repurchase most of its reservation.
Legal aftermath
Corrected only by new treaties (1842, 1857). Widely reported allegations of bribery and forged consent, and the Senate's narrow ratification margin, were not confirmed in sources read.
Kind
Violation
Confidence
Medium
Nation review
Not yet reviewed by this nation
Notes
  • Some details not yet checked against a source
  • Some details unverified

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