Who Are the Seneca?
The Seneca are an Iroquoian-speaking people of western New York, the largest nation of the Haudenosaunee (Six Nations Confederacy). The Seneca Nation of Indians has approximately 8,400 enrolled members; combined with Tonawanda Band of Seneca (~1,200) and Seneca-Cayuga Nation in Oklahoma (~5,400), total Seneca population exceeds 15,000. Their name "Onöndowá'ga:" means "People of the Great Hill." They speak Seneca, an Iroquoian language with fewer than 100 fluent speakers. As "Keepers of the Western Door," the Seneca guarded the Haudenosaunee Confederacy's western frontier—the most powerful Native political entity in colonial northeastern North America.
Haudenosaunee Power
The Seneca were the most populous and militarily powerful Haudenosaunee nation. From their homeland between the Genesee River and Seneca Lake, they dominated regional warfare and diplomacy. The Haudenosaunee Confederacy—Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and later Tuscarora—controlled the balance of power in colonial America. European powers courted their alliance. The American Revolution divided the Confederacy; most Seneca allied with Britain. American retaliation (Sullivan-Clinton Campaign, 1779) destroyed Seneca towns and orchards, devastating but not destroying the nation.
Kinzua Dam
The Kinzua Dam (1965) flooded 10,000 acres of Seneca land guaranteed by the 1794 Canandaigua Treaty—the oldest treaty still in effect between the US and an Indian nation. Despite Seneca opposition and legal challenges, the dam displaced 600 people from the Allegany Reservation, destroying the Cornplanter community and flooding sacred sites. Compensation was inadequate; the trauma persists. The Kinzua Dam case epitomizes how treaty rights could be violated even in the 20th century when "national interest" was invoked. The Seneca remember Kinzua as a betrayal that violated solemn American promises.
Contemporary Seneca
Modern Seneca maintain substantial sovereignty. The Seneca Nation operates major gaming facilities (Seneca Niagara, Seneca Allegany) generating significant revenue. Tax-free cigarette and gasoline sales also contribute to the economy. The nation operates its own courts, police, and government services. Language revitalization is urgent; the Seneca Language Revitalization Program works to create new speakers. Traditional practices, including the Longhouse religion, continue. The Tonawanda Band maintains separate governance and greater adherence to traditional ways. How Seneca balance economic development, cultural preservation, and Haudenosaunee confederacy participation shapes this keeper of the western door's future.
References
- Wallace, A. F. C. (1969). The Death and Rebirth of the Seneca
- Hauptman, L. M. (2014). In the Shadow of Kinzua: The Seneca Nation of Indians
- Bilharz, J. A. (1998). The Allegany Senecas and Kinzua Dam