Cover:
Record of the Council held upon the Tonewanda Reservation January 1 & 2, 1846 and a letter from the Chiefs and also from John Blacksmith to L.H. Morgan
Annual Councils were held at Onondaga in the fall prior to Sullivan's? ? ? & the expulsion? of the Mohawks
[Page 1]A Report of a Seneca Council held at the Indian Meeting house upon the Tonawanda ReservationJanuary 1st and second 1846. Ely [-] Parker [-] [-]The Council was called for the purpose of hearing Read a letter from L H Morgan of Rochester to J Blacksmith a Seneca Sachem. Council hearingCon[-] I was called upon to read to them the letterI read it to them. John Blacksmith was then calledUpon by the Council to give his views concerningThe matter contained in the letter. He arose & spokeIn words nearly as follows.Chiefs & Nations. MohawkHeard & comprehended the contents of the letter we have Lately received. We all understand that it was writtenTo us by the Great Sachem of that hand who, we have Heard, style themselves Hodenohsonnee. It is a SocietyThat has lately come into existence & as far as I know any thing about it, it is of an Indian Character. I have just been informed by my grandson who is himself a member of that band, that I also have been made a member of it. I mention this fact to you that you maynot think I have been recently drawn into a snarewhen I would be obliged to go against the interest of mypeople. But as to the letter it is good. There ismanifest in it a spirit of disinterested Friendship. I love. They offer to assist us. Can we reject their Offers, when they are so disinterested? They tell no they Know that many have failed to affect any thing of those Who have heretofore assisted us. But it does not dis= Courage them, they say they are resolved to try. Let them do it. And for one I say, I approve of the letter & let us write to them & encourage them & [-] them To push the work on. And on our part let Us not be idle James Johnson succeeded [illegible] him in words nearly as follows[Page 2]Chiefs & Nations. The letter we have justHeard read tells us of the organization of a band Called Hodenosonnee. That band proposes to assistUs in our endeavors to rescue our lands from the Grasp of the Ogden Land Company. We have not cravedTheir assistance but they have offered is of their own will. They Have assumed that name under which our Nations haveExisted for many years. We the Old Confederacy of Iroquois, are upon the point of dissolution & extinction. We exist now, only in name. Our power has been broken. In our stead is springing up a new Confederacy. ThyeAre of a different color than we. But yet for oneI cannot do otherwise than to wish them success in their Undertaking. And also I cannot believe, although we have manyTimes been deceived by treacherous white men, that they will Deceive us, if we confide in them & accept the assistance They offer. I also am in favor of writing to them & givingThem encouragement to prosecute the plan they have laidOutJames Johnson having assumed his seat, Jesse Spring [-] & [-] as follows Ha sque sa oh. Chiefs & warriors, give Strict attention to the worlds I may speak to day. YouMay not assume that what I shall say is the [-]Conviction of the heart. There are many men of goodMinds , who clothed in the mantle of sincerity, will utterWhat they do not themselves believe for the sake of popularityBut I will not deceive you in what I say. I have take Into close [-] the contents of the letter. I see no Objection why we should not accept the proffered aid& why the new Band of Hodenosonnee should not goodIn their [-] work. I for one say let them go on With the work they have communicated. But why a member of White people banded together should style themselves Hodenoson[off page]May be a mystery to some. I have before heard of the existence of such a society. It was told me by La Fort
[Page 3]
who is a member. He says that he never has attended
any of their meetings, but at the same time he has a
comprehensive view of the object of the Society. I under-
stand also that my cousin ([E. S. Parker]) is a member.
I would therefore propose that he give us somewhat
of an idea of the Society & its objects before we
proceed any further. This I think will be right, for before
we [trust] too fully to them, we should know some of the causes
of their writing to [them].
The [Chief] having concluded that
they would like to know something about the Society, called upon
me to say something respecting it. I spoke to them in
words nearly as follows.
It is about two years ago
since I first became acquainted with the New
Confederacy of Iroquois, although it seems that at
that time they were not permanently established as such.
But they had [assumed] that name & were pushing forward
their [investigating]. Their investigations were mainly directed
to the investigation of the history, government traditions & treatises of the
Six Nations of Indians. They soon [ascertained] that the
Six Nations of Indians had a form of government by which
they had so perfectly preserved their alliance with one
another. It therefore became absolutely necessary for
their new organization to become acquainted with their
form of government & if possible to establish themselves
upon the same formations, since, they had assumed
the name of [Onggwanosommee], Much time was spent
in this. They have learned enough of the government of the
Iroquois to establish themselves. They have consequently
turned their attention to other matters connected with
the Indians. Their first [care] as a matter of course, was to examine
the condition of the remnants of that once powerful
People of the Six Nations. They found none to be
in such pitiable condition as the Senecas. They imme-
diately resolved to yield them asistance in this suffering condition.
[Page 4]
You have heard what plans they have resolved upon
in rendering assistance to the suffering Indians of the
Seneca Nations. I think I can testify to the
sincerity & purity of their motives in aiding the suffering
Indians. There are many of them & I am confident
that whatever they resolve to do, will be done if it is
a possible thing. And in this matter, which has been explained
to you in the letter, I think if the Senate of the US can be moved
at all, it will be done by them. In this, you may rest assured
that they will do what they have promised, that is they will
try
Afterwards nearly all the Chiefs spoke expressing
the same opinion as Blacksmith, Johnson & [Spring].
It being late it was finally determined that they
should [meet] again the next day for further action
upon the subject.
January 2nd 1846. All the Chiefs present & a number
of warriors. After consulting among themselves it was
determined that a letter should be written to L H Morgan
on behalf of the Seneca Chiefs upon the Tonowanda Reservation.
The following sachems & Chiefs also spoke in Council.
Daniel Spring [Ga no ga ee]
Benj Jonas [Ga neo di yo] }Sachems
Samuel Parker [Jo qua ya nee]
Lewis Poodry [Go gweh]
Jesse Tiffany
Isaac [Shanks] [Da ga so deh] }Chiefs