Treaty with Six Nations
To Use This Document
With Your Students
Date
11/11/1794
Description
From the National Archives' DocsTeach website: "This is the treaty between the United States of America and the Tribes of Indians called the Six Nations (also called the Iroquois or Haudenosaunee). This treaty (also known the Treaty of Canandaigua, the Pickering Treaty and the Calico Treaty) as confirmed peace between the United States and the Six Nations, most of whom live in what is now upper New York State and Canada. One of the first Federal treaties to return to a Native Nation land given up by a previous treaty, it restored to the Seneca more than a million acres they had been forced to cede under the 1784 Treaty of Fort Stanwix. In exchange for permitting the United States to build a road through part of their territory, as well as allowing Americans safe passage through it, the Iroquois received goods valued at $10,000 and additional annuity payments. Each Native delegate signed this treaty by drawing an X beside his name. President George Washington signed at bottom. After the Revolutionary War, the United States had continued the European practice of negotiating treaties with the Native Peoples similarly to how they negotiated with foreign governments. This practice changed gradually over time. In 1831, the Supreme Court case Cherokee Nation v. Georgia changed the status of Native tribes from "independent, sovereign nations" to "domestic dependent nations." Treaties, however, still followed the pattern of requiring negotiations between the U.S. Government and tribal governments and ratification by Congress. Not all negotiated treaties were ratified. In 1871, Congress passed the Indian Appropriations Act, which suspended all further treaties with Native governments. After that time, all changes or additions to Native lands or status were conducted by Executive Order, Acts of Congress, and decisions of the Federal Courts. To this day federally recognized American Indian tribes and Alaska Natives retain the right of self-government and usually hold a legal position directly under the Federal Government."
Type
Written Document
Region
Central New York, New York State, United States
Era
Revolution and New Nation
Topic
Indigenous Peoples of North America
Repository
National Archives and Records Administration
Identifier
12013254
Source
General Records of the United States Government. National Archives and Records Administration.
How to cite this document
Treaty between the United States of America and the Tribes of Indians Called the Six Nations; 11/11/1794; Ratified Indian Treaty 21: Six Nations - Konondaigua, NY, November 11, 1794, 1722 - 1869; Indian Treaties, 1722 - 1869; General Records of the United States Government, Record Group 11; National Archives Building, Washington, D.C.. [Online Version, https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/treaty-six-nations, March 6, 2024]
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