Tonawanda Senecas' Heroic Battle Against Removal

Laurence M. Hauptman is SUNY Distinguished Professor of History at SUNY New Paltz. His many books include Seven Generations of Iroquois Leadership: The Six Nations since 1800; A Nation within a Nation: Voices of the Oneidas in Wisconsin; and Formulating American Indian Policy in New York State, 1970–1986, also published by SUNY Press.

• List of ChartsList of MapsAbbreviationsPreface1. The Tonawanda Community: Early History2. The Awakener3. He Carries a Heavy Weight on His Shoulders4. The Compromised Treaty5. The Activist Sachemphoto gallery following page 746. The Runner7. The Whig Mouthpiece8. The Tonawanda Treaty9. Buying Back the Reservation10. ConclusionAppendicesAppendix I. Tonawanda Seneca Clan Mothers’ Support of Chiefs’ Efforts to Protest Treaty of Buffalo Creek of 1838, March 14, 1841Appendix II. "TO THE PUBLIC"—Tonawanda Chiefs’ Advertisement Asking the Non-Indians of Western New York Not to Purcase Reservation Lands from the Ogden Land Company. Spirit of the Times [Batavia, New York newspaper], June 19, 1844NotesBibliographyIndex

"…delivers a compelling account of the Tonawanda Band of Senecas' struggle with the white man, dispelling the notion that Native Americans were naïve victims 'in the inevitable march of westward expansion.' … Hauptman's style is engaging and cogent as he follows the trail of lawsuits, offers and counteroffers between the Tonawandas and the governments of New York State and Washington." — Western New York Heritage"In this brief, accessible volume, prolific historian Hauptman details the successful 19th-century struggle of the Tonawanda Band of Seneca Indians to secure their territory in western New York State and protect themselves from federally sponsored removal … An important study in the history of Indian sovereignty that deserves broad readership … Highly recommended." — CHOICE"The little known saga of the traditionalist Seneca community at Tonawanda is told here in admirable style and with impeccable scholarship." — Anthony F. C. Wallace