Keepers of the Western Door: the Seneca

The Seneca were, and are, one of the Six Nations of the Iroquois, an Iroquoian-speaking people who originated in what is now New York, south of Lake Ontario.  It's impossible to give more than a brief rundown of their history here, though we've already come across Seneca leaders such as Guyasuta, Red Jacket, Blacksnake, Cornplanter, Handsome Lake, and adopted Seneca such as Simon Girty and Mary Jemison.  Their name, Seneca, in English comes from a corruption of the place-name of one of their villages, Osininka, which meant stone place in their language.  Seneca oral tradition has them originating near Canandaigua Lake, at Bare Hill, where the remains of an ancient fort, said to have been inhabited by ancestors of the Seneca, once stood.  The material of the fort was used in the early twentieth century as fill for a road, losing a valuable archaeological treasure.

The Seneca homeland was between the Genesee River and Canadaigua Lake.  Along with the original Five Nations, the Seneca joined the Iroquois Confederacy in the 12th century.  The Seneca extended their range to the Allegheny River after defeating the Wenro and Erie people during the Beaver Wars of the 17th century.  Like the other Iroquois nations, the Seneca maintained farms and towns, but also hunted throughout their range, extended into the Ohio River Valley.  The Seneca were rivals with other Iroquoian peoples such as the Huron and Susquehannock, and Algonquian speakers such as the Delaware and Shawnee.  Seneca society was matrilineal, with children inheriting property and gaining status through their mother's tribe.  During the Sullivan Expedition of 1779-80, American troops raided the Seneca heartland, taking note of the prosperous farms and towns. 

Like the Mohawk, the Seneca emerged from the Beaver Wars as a formidable power to be reckoned with, having defeated other tribes and expanded their territory.  They were allied with the British against the French, often facing French reprisals for their loyalty, particularly during the French and Indian/Seven Years War (1755-1763).  However, during Pontiac's Rebellion (1764), some Seneca who had relocated to the Ohio Valley rebelled against British authority.  At the beginning of the American Revolution (1775-1783), the Seneca had wanted to remain neutral.  American raids on Seneca land forced them to choose sides with the British.  This cost the Seneca most of their homeland in New York and thousands of Seneca relocated to Canada with the other Iroquois Nations.  Leaders such as Red Jacket, Cornplanter and Blacksnake realized that making peace and coexisting with Americans would allow them to salvage some of their ancient homelands, although most of their land was eventually sold.  Seneca living in Ohio were eventually forced to relocate to Oklahoma during Indian Removal in the 1830's.  Today, there are three recognized Seneca tribes, Seneca Nation of New York, Tonawanda Band of Seneca Native Americans, and the Seneca-Cayuga Tribe of Oklahoma.