Treaty of Big Tree facts for kids
The Treaty of Big Tree was an important agreement signed in 1797 between the Seneca Nation and the United States. In this treaty, the Seneca Nation gave up their rights to almost all of their traditional lands in New York State. This was a huge area, nearly 3.5 million acres!
Before this, in 1788, the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) had already sold rights to land between Seneca Lake and the Genesee River. The Treaty of Big Tree meant they gave up their rights to all their territory west of the Genesee River. They kept 12 smaller areas of land.
For this land, the Seneca Nation received $100,000. This money was not paid directly to the tribe. Instead, it was invested in shares of the First Bank of the United States. The Seneca people were to receive annual payments of up to six percent, or $6,000 a year, from these bank shares.
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When and Where Was the Treaty Signed?
The people involved in the treaty met from August 20 to September 16, 1797. They gathered at a simple cabin belonging to James and William Wadsworth. These men were early settlers and land agents in the area. The meeting place is now the village of Geneseo, New York. The main discussions happened near the Wadsworths' cabin, close to where SUNY Geneseo is today.
Who Was There?
About 3,000 Seneca people and other important members of the Six Nations of the Iroquois attended.
The Seneca Nation was represented by their chiefs, known as hoyaneh. These included:
- Cornplanter
- Red Jacket
- Young King
- Little Billy
- Farmer's Brother
- Handsome Lake
- Tall Chief
- Little Beard
- The clan mothers of the nation
- Mary Jemison
The United States government was represented by:
- Colonel Jeremiah Wadsworth, who was sent by President George Washington
- Captain Charles Williamson
- Thomas Morris, representing his father, Robert Morris
- General William Shepard, representing Massachusetts
- William Bayard, representing New York
- Captain Israel Chapin, representing the Department of Indian Affairs
- James Rees, who acted as the secretary
The official interpreters, who helped everyone understand each other, were Horatio Jones and Jasper Parrish.
Also present were representatives from the Holland Land Company. This group included William Bayard, Joseph Ellicott (a surveyor), John Lincklaen, Gerrit Boon, Jan Gabriel van Staphorst, and Roelof Van Staphorst.
How Were the Negotiations?
The American delegates stayed in the Wadsworths' log cabin. The Seneca people built a special council house nearby for the meetings. The discussions were often intense and went back and forth for almost a month. The treaty was finally signed on September 16, 1797.
After the treaty was signed, Robert Morris asked that if the Seneca Nation ever "became extinct," the $100,000 payment should go back to his family. However, the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of State said no to his request.
This treaty was very important because it opened up the rest of the land west of the Genesee River for new settlements. It also created twelve reservations for the Seneca people in Western New York. The treaty also promised them ongoing annual payments and kept their hunting and fishing rights.
Why Is It Called the Treaty of Big Tree?
The treaty was signed near what is now the village of Geneseo, New York. At that time, this area was known as Big Tree. This name came from a nearby Seneca village called Big Tree, which was just across the Genesee River in what is now Leicester. The village was probably named after a chief whose title translated to "tree-prone-big."
Some local stories mix up the chief and village name with a famous large oak tree. This tree was known as the "Big Tree" or "Wadsworth Oak." It grew on the eastern bank of the Genesee River in Geneseo. Even though the treaty was signed close to this large oak, the Seneca name "tree-prone-big" suggests a tree lying down, which doesn't describe the oak tree as it stood in 1797. After the treaty was signed, the Big Tree became a popular spot for white settlers to visit.
The Big Tree was washed away by a flood in late 1857. Earlier that year, its trunk had been measured and was found to have a circumference of 26 feet and 9 inches. The Livingston County Historical Society Museum in Geneseo, New York, has a restored part of the Big Tree. This is believed to be the last remaining piece, besides some furniture made by a woodworker in the 1800s.
Seneca Nation Reservations Created by the Treaty
The treaty officially set aside the following reservations for the Seneca Nation:
- Along the Genesee River, which was once the heart of the Seneca homeland:
- A two-square-mile area at Canawaugas (meaning fetid waters, now Avon, New York). This area was set up to include the village and extend one mile along the river.
- Another two-square-mile area at Big Tree (Gen-nis'-he-yo, meaning Beautiful Valley). This was also set up to include the village and extend one mile along the river.
- A two-square-mile area at Little Beard's Town (Do-oh-nun-da-gah-a, meaning Where the Hill is Near). This area extended one mile along the river and included the village.
- A two-square-mile area at Squawky Hill (De-yu-it-ga-oh, meaning Valley Begins To Widen, Leicester, New York). One square mile was along the river, including the village, and the other was directly west of it.
- A 28-square-mile area at Gardeau (Ga-da'-o, meaning Bank in Front, Mount Morris, New York). This area was carefully mapped out to include land on both sides of the river.
- An area at Kaounadeau (Can-e-a-de'-a, meaning Where the Heavens Rest on the Earth). This area was eight miles long along the river and two miles wide.
- In Western New York:
- An area at Cataraugos (meaning Fetid Banks), now the Cattaraugus Reservation. This area started at the mouth of the Eighteen Mile or Koghquaugu creek and followed a line parallel to Lake Erie.
- Another area at Cataraugos, starting on the south side of Cataraugos creek near Lake Erie.
- A 42-square-mile area at or near the Allegany river.
- Two hundred square miles, to be set aside partly at the Buffalo and partly at the Tonnawanta creeks (now Buffalo Creek Reservation and Tonawanda Reservation Ta'-na-wun-da, meaning Swift Water).
The treaty also made sure that the Seneca people and their future generations kept the right to fish and hunt on the land that was given away.
The exact locations and sizes of the Buffalo Creek and Tonawanda Creek reservations were not fully defined in the treaty. In October 1798, Augustus Porter, working for Joseph Ellicott and the Holland Land Company, surveyed the area. He set the boundaries and decided the Buffalo Creek Reservation would be 83,557 acres. During his survey, he made sure the mouth of Buffalo Creek was outside the reservation.
One reservation, the Oil Springs Reservation near Cuba Lake, was not mentioned in the treaty. In 1861, the Senecas won a lawsuit. This lawsuit gave the Seneca Nation of Indians control over the Oil Spring Reservation, because it was decided that leaving it out of the treaty was a mistake.
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