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Land Claim
News Haudenosaunee Land Claim Brief History
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| Page 2 Haudenosaunee Land Claims
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Fall 1999 |
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Haudenosaunee - United States On April 19, 1776, John Hancock, President of the Continental Congress, sent a wampum belt to Haudenosaunee communities to show `good intentions' and to 'cultivate peace' between the new Nation and the Indian Nations. This resulted in the first treaty between our Nations. George Washington outlined his principles behind federal Indian policy in a 1783 letter to James Duane, who headed a Select Committee on Indian Affairs and was the NY delegate to the Continental Congress. These principles included ending the dangerous antics of "Land Jobbers, Speculators, and Monopolisers" who were cheating the Indians. Washington wanted a boundary line "which we will endeavor to restrain our People from Hunting and Settling [on Haudenosaunee lands]." He also wrote, "if they [Indians] should make a point of it, or appear dissatisfied at the line, we may find it necessary to establish, compensation should be made them for their claims within it." Our ancestors viewed each other as separate, but equal, nations. The federal government then made three treaties with the Haudenosaunee in 1784, 1789 and 1794, proving that the Haudenosaunee were recognized as a legal political entity by the United States. At Fort Stanwix in 1784, the Haudenosaunee made their second treaty with the U.S. recognizing the independent lands of the Haudenosaunee and establishing a formal boundary line. The Haudenosaunee was formally and legally |
recognized by the United States
by virtue of this treaty. This boundary line was repeated, with minor
adjustments in the next two treaties. Through these treaties, the
two parties agreed to respect each other's sovereignty. One of the most
significant figures among the founding fathers who wrote the Constitution
was Rufus King, who then became one of New York State's first U.S.
Senators. King equated Indian treaties with all other international
treaties.
In 1790, President Washington, to show his support for the integrity of Haudenosaunee lands, convinced Congress to pass the Trade and Intercourse Act which states there will be no legal transactions in Indian land unless there is a federal agent present, and Congressional approval is given. The State of New York ignored our treaties and the federal laws and set out to take over the lands of the Haudenosaunee. In 1788 New York formally commissioned a group of people to extinguish our title to our lands, by any means necessary. To counter this move, Washington promised that the "principles of justice and humanity" would be the hallmark of the relationship between the Haudenosaunee and the United States.In 1795, U.S. Attorney General Bradford informed the U.S. Secretary of War that the "New York Indians" claim to our land "cannot be extinguished but by a treaty holden under the authority of the United States, and in a manner prescribed by Congress." N.Y. Governor John Jay was informed of this policy and was aware that the proposed purchases of land from the Haudenosaunee would be considered illegal. The United States sought a clear Understanding of its role in defining the international boundary line between the Haudenosaunee and the United States, rights to land and the role of the federal government in protecting the interests of the Haudenosaunee against the State of New York and individual land speculators. Our claims for land come from the instances where the boundary line, as defined by treaties, has been violated and/or incidents when the State of New York violated federal law in |
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