Contemporary Copy of Letter

Grievances from the Five Nations to Congress

The Five Nations address grievances pertaining to land sales to Congress.

1789

06

02

Sharonghyawanen; Kagondenayen; Ojageghte; Oghneakwenlon; Oghrenrayewaght; Shendioghkwadigh; Joseph Brant.

Onandaga

Cayuga

Mohawk

Seneca

Joseph Brant

Mr. Phelps

Peter Ryckman

Red Head

Steel Trap

John Livingston

Cornplanter

Governor of Massachusetts

Governor of New York

Buffaloe Creek

Albany

Fort Schuyler

1789060290001

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8

2. Simcoe Papers.

Packet A.10.

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Copy
To the [Blank Space] President of the United States
[Editor's Note: 3 undecipherable words or word fragments. The final two letters in each are underlined. Under each line are two dots that are parallel to the line. See discussion: Page 1, 3rd line.]
Brothers
We the Sachems, Chiefs, and Warriors of the Five Nations Assembled in Council at our Great Council Fire at Buffaloe Creek, Congratulate you upon Your new System of Government, by which you have one Head to rule, Who we can look to for redress in all disputes which have arose or which may Arise between your People and ours--
As you are now at Peace with all Your Neighbours, so we wish also to live in peace with You, and that A friendly inter course may Sub-sist between You and us & [Editor's Note: See discussion--Page 1, 3rd line.] between Your Children and ours, and in Order to lay a firm Foundation for that, it is necessary first to remove all Subjects of Uneasiness out of the way and for that Purpose it is that we request You will listen and attend to our Complaints
Brothers;
We feel ourselves injured by the Number of Council Fires which Your people have Kindled at Different Places to
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do business with us, it has always been the Custom with our Forefathers to have one great Council fire Kept Burning & there to do all Public Business which respected the Five Nations in General, The King our Father had also one great Council Fire to which we resorted when we had any important matter to Communicate, at Buffaloe Creek, ours has long been established & still con-tinues /and there we hold and mean to hold all Treaties in which the General Consultation of the Five Nations is required, & What is done there in Public Council we hold Sacred and Shall always adhere to Strictly. ....
Brothers
The Governor of New York ad-dressed us in a Speech, Dated the 18th of May 1788, inviting us to attend at Fort Schuyler on the 10th Day of July, on Business of importance to our Mutual Happiness, at the Same time warned us against holding private Treaties with the Dis-obedient Children of the States, Contrary to the good old rule and Custom which had always been Observed between Your forefathers and ours, & advised us not to let them Settle on the Lands which: they had Obtained A Lease of the Fall before, from part of our Chiefs only--Prior to the receipt of the Governors Letter we recd.
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A Letter from Your Commissioners to attend A Treaty to be held at Tuskarawas where we were then Preparing to go, Soon after our Departure from home another Message arrived in our Villages informing that the Treaty was to be held in the Fall, at Fort Scuylers & requesting our Chiefs to attend, The Governor was then inform'd that Chiefs were gone to the Southward on Public Business and Could not at-tend till their return, Notwithstanding which the Governor Contrary to the Princip-les of his advice to us, (at the instigation of A Couple of Traders residing in the Villages) assembled Five Sachems, one Chief warrior, And A few Young men & women and made a partial purchase of the whole of the Onondago Country, and again last winter with the assis-tance of Peter Ryckman, he Call'd a few individuals together at Albany & made A Still more unjust Purchase of the Cayaga Country without the Consent or even Knowledge of A Single Sachem,/ Chief, warrior, or Principle Woman of the Five Nations, but from a Small Number of Boys & Girls headed by an Onondago (by extraction) called steel-trap the Grand-son of an Onondago known by the name of red head he was not looked upon as a Chief with us but Only as a warrior This we looked upon as Fraudulent means of Possessing our Country, without
Paying
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Paying the Value or any Part thereof, for the Good of the Nations in General to whom the lands belong. Such is our wish that Peace & a friendly Intercourse Should be established between your People and Ours, that to extricate ourselves from a Similar Embarassment O Ball (Corn Planter) had Brought us into, by unautho-rised Stretch of Power in Leasing the whole of our Country to John Livingston, Made A Sacrifice of Part of our Country to ease the Five Nations from that distress-ed delema (which O Balls imprudence had brought them into) by which you will easily Perceive how Strong our wish has been to avoid Violating the much wish'd for friendship between Your Children and ours,--In June 1788 when we were all Prepar'd to attend the Call of Your Commissioners on business to the South-ward we received Mr. Phelps & Doctr. Benton at our Council Fire at Buffaloe Creek and Put off our Journey some weeks in Order to have that Interesting Matter Settled in full Council, that no disturbance should arise afterwards it was not without much dificulty that we releas'd Part of our Country by giving up another Part to accomodate Mr Phelps who had A legal Authority from the Governor of Massachusets to Purchase the Lands, and stood ready to hold them upon the lease, if we did not Chuse to treat with
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him Ourselves, Thus Brothers was the situation we were brought into by the Self interest of Individuals on Both Sides without being Previously Consulted upon the Matter, Still loth to infringe on that Chain of Friendship which we rather wish-ed to Strengthen than /Violate, We then in a Public and full Council Sold to Mr. Phelps a Large tract of Land on the Genesea River and Confirm'd to Doctr. Benton and his associates all the Five Nations Country lying East of Mr. Phelp's Purchase, those are the People the Governor calls your Disobedi-ent Children, they are your Children Settle the Matter with them as you think Proper, but do not let us be injur'd in Punishing them Notwithstanding they first look to avail themselves of the Lands it was afterwards Confirm'd to them in Public Council at Buffaloe Creek therefore we hold it Sacred and if we are Paid agreeable to the Bargain then made we are Content & shall have no Objections to the Country being settled peaceably,but what has been sold since to the Governor, by our Young men & wrong-headed People Contrary to our Ancient Customs, & in direct Contradiction to the Governors own Language to us and not Confirm'd at our great Council Fire at Buffaloe Creek, we cannot confim and are Convinc'd you will see the impropriety of his Pretensions to Settle his people upon
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such a slender Title and we presume You will Approve of our Determination to Prevent any Surveys taking Place by Virtue of that Purchase-- We were not Desirous of Selling our Lands but after being deceiv'd entirely O Ball, And the intrigues of Your People Such was our wish for Peace with our Neighbours that we gave A firm deed to Mr. Phelps at the same time, which we also hold sacred & he is now in Quiet Possession of the Lands, as the others might have been had the Governor not interferd, in Purchasing the Same Lands from them who had no weight, The 15th day of July Next is the time we are to meet Mr Phelps to receive our Payment and as the Lands are held in General & not in distinct Property we Should Wish to receive our Money from the New York Company at the same time, That one division might serve for the whole but as Contentions have arose amongst your own Children which Prevents/their coming forward to finish their Business with us we beg you will so far interfere as will remove the Present and
xsic. [Editor's Note: See discussion about this margin note.] prevent furthuxre Dificuxties from Arising that a friendly intercourse may again take place and Continue to the Mutual Satisfaction of both your Children and ours that they may sit down in Peace and enjoy the fruits of their Labour.--
We
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We again repeat that it is not our wish to live in Contention with our Neighbours nor do we wish to take our lands back to ourselves but that we may be paid for them agreeable to the Conditions of the Sale made at our Council fire at Buffaloe Creek Last Summer and that (if Posible) at the time we are to receive our Payments from Mr Phelps but should the time be
xsic. [Editor's note: See discussion.] twxo short for the full Determination of so weighty a Matter we hope you will be able at this time to acknowledge The recept of this and we wish that in Order to inform Yourselves fully of the measures that have been taken, that you would send Commissioners to en-quire into the Circumstancys of these our Complaints and that Peter Ryckman who is well acquainted with all those proceedings and who has himself been A principle instrument in Creating all the Mischief that has been Occasion'd on both sides may also attend with them and when you have the matter Ecxplain'd so that you may perfectly understand it We presume that all will be made right and that we will then be enabled to Convince you of the Sincerity & Justice of our Intentions by Strictly adheaxring to all Public Treaties we engage in --
Signed
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Signed
Sharonghyawanen} in behalf of the
Kagondenayen} Onondago Nation. [See discussion.]

Ojageghte} in behalf of the
Oghneakwenton.} Cayuga Nation.

Oghrenrayewaght} in behalf of the
Skendioghkwadigh} Seneca Nation

Jos. Brant (or Tekanawela} in behalf of the Mohawk Nation.

Copy.

Buffaloe Creek
2nd June 1789.

Endorsed:-- Copy

Address to Congress
from the Five Nations
Buffaloe Creek 2nd June
1789