This book tells the story of the late colonial and early reservation history of the Seneca Indians, and of the prophet Handsome Lake, his visions, and the moral and religious revitalization of an American Indian society that he and his followers achieved in the years around 1800.

The era following the American War of Independence was one of enormous conflict for the Allegany Senecas. There was then no Seneca leader more influential than Chief Warrior Cornplanter. Yet there has been no definitive treatment of his life--until now. Complex and passionate, yet wise, Cornplanter led his people in war and along an often troubled path to peace. This incisive biography traces his rise to prominence as a Seneca military leader during the American Revolution, and his later diplomatic success in negotiations with the Federal government. The book also explores Cornplanter’s dealings with other Native American councils and with his own people. It tells how Senecas faced heavy pressure to sell their lands, and how they concurrently embraced a reformed and revitalized Iroquois religion, as inspired by Cornplanter’s visionary half-brother, Handsome Lake. Thomas S. Abler skillfully weaves together previously discordant strands of the Chief Warrior’s life into a concise, animated and enlightening portrait. Even as Cornplanter examines a critical period in American history, it gives us a multi-dimensional knowledge of politics and diplomacy from the Seneca point of view. Thoroughly researched and clearly written, this is an ideal companion for students and aficionados of the American Revolution and early nationhood, the Iroquois, and New York State history.

In the first modern biography of Red jacket, Christopher Densmore sheds light on the achievements of this formidable Iroquois diplomat who, as a representative of the Seneca and Six Nations, met and negotiated with American presidents from George Washington to Andrew Jackson. The political career of Red Jacket (1758-1830) began just before the American Revolution, when both the Americans and the British sought the alliance of the powerful Iroquois Confederacy. By the 1790s, Red Jacket was frequently the diplomat chosen by the Seneca Nation and the Iroquois Confederacy to represent them in councils and treaty negotiations between the United States, the British in Canada, and the Indian nations of the Ohio Country. Red Jacket spoke eloquently against the sale of Indian lands, against the encroachment of the white man’s religion and culture, and in defense of Indian sovereignty. His speeches were widely known in his own lifetime and continue to be reprinted.

Seneca Possessed examines the ordeal of a Native people in the wake of the American Revolution. As part of the once-formidable Iroquois Six Nations in western New York, Senecas occupied a significant if ambivalent place within the newly established United States. They found themselves the object of missionaries' conversion efforts while also confronting land speculators, poachers, squatters, timber-cutters, and officials from state and federal governments. In response, Seneca communities sought to preserve their territories and culture amid a maelstrom of economic, social, religious, and political change. They succeeded through a remarkable course of cultural innovation and conservation, skillful calculation and luck, and the guidance of both a Native prophet and unusual Quakers. Through the prophecies of Handsome Lake and the message of Quaker missionaries, this process advanced fitfully, incorporating elements of Christianity and white society and economy, along with older Seneca ideas and practices. But cultural reinvention did not come easily. Episodes of Seneca witch-hunting reflected the wider crises the Senecas were experiencing. Ironically, as with so much of their experience in this period, such episodes also allowed for the preservation of Seneca sovereignty, as in the case of Tommy Jemmy, a Seneca chief tried by New York in 1821 for executing a Seneca "witch." Here Senecas improbably but successfully defended their right to self-government. Through the stories of Tommy Jemmy, Handsome Lake, and others, Seneca Possessed explores how the Seneca people and their homeland were "possessed"—culturally, spiritually, materially, and legally—in the era of early American independence.

In the rich tradition of oral storytelling, Chief Irving Powless Jr. of the Beaver Clan of the Onondaga Nation reminds us of an ancient treaty. It promises that the Haudenosaunee people and non-Indigenous North Americans will respect each other’s differences even when their cultures and behaviors differ greatly. Powless shares intimate stories of growing up close to the earth, of his work as Wampum Keeper for the Haudenosaunee people, of his heritage as a lacrosse player, and of the treaties his ancestors made with the newcomers. He also pokes fun at the often-peculiar behavior of his non-Onondaga neighbors, asking, “Who are these people anyway?” Sometimes disarmingly gentle, sometimes caustic, these vignettes refreshingly portray mainstream North American culture as seen through Haudenosaunee eyes. Powless illustrates for all of us the importance of respect, peace, and, most importantly, living by the unwritten laws that preserve the natural world for future generations.

Tuscarora is the comprehensive history of the small Iroquois Indian reservation community just north of Niagara Falls in western New York. The Tuscaroras consider themselves to be a sovereign nation, independent of the United States and the State of New York. They have preserved a system of social organization and ideal public values, along with the Tonawanda Seneca and the Onondagas that retains matrilineal clans, and a Council of Chiefs nominated by the clan matrons. Over the course of their existence, however, the Tuscarora have faced many struggles. Stemming from over sixty years of research, Anthony F. C. Wallace follows their story of overcoming war and loss of population, migration from North Carolina in the 1700s, the emotional trauma and social disorders resulting from discrimination and abusive conditions in residential boarding schools, and successful adaption to urban industrial society. Wallace weaves together historical detail, ethnography, and his own personal reflections to offer a unique and sweeping look at this fascinating group of people.

This account of a 1799 Quaker mission to a Seneca village is based on the journal of Henry Simmons and offers a captivating look at the lifestyles of both groups and their interactions.