Iroquois Land

Paper Summary:

This paper examines how the treatment of Native Americans by the early settlers and the later colonists of America has been a lesson in sorrow and despair. It attempts to show that not only was the dispossession of Iroquois land immoral and unethical, but in almost every instance illegal by any standards of contract and treaty as well. It also examines how often the Iroquois were represented by parties that were to benefit from their losses or simply not represented at all since the translation of the documents were often misleading or completely non-sequitur to the actual intention of the treaties and contracts involved.

Outline:
Prospectus
Introduction
The Land and the People are One.
The Patroons and Leasehold Estates
The Beginning of the End
The Father of Our Country
Time Marches On
The Last War Dance
The Trail not Taken
The Last of the Iroquois
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"While there had always been many disputes over the Native American Territories long before then, the Iroquois would find that in 1785 New York and its then Governor, George Clinton, along with a company called The New York Genesee Land Company, would begin a process that would systematically remove them from their lands. First, The New York Genesee Land Company, an independent group of businessman, negotiated a 999-year-lease on the majority of Iroquois lands in New York State for the initial price of $20,000, and an ongoing annual rental fee of $2,000. The State charter had originally assumed full control over the governance of Native American territory which had been reserved to the Iroquois in 1768 by the establishment of a property line, west of which white men were forbidden to settle. The sale of any of the lands of the Six nations was reserved to judgment and prevue of the State alone. "

Sample of Sources Used:

• Adams, Spencer L. The Long House of the Iroquois. Skaneateles, NY: Fairview Farm, 1944.
• "The Albany Congress." Cobblestone Press, 26 No. 6 (2005): 30-30
• Benner, Dana. "Battle on the Niagara Frontier" Military History, 23 No. 9 (2006): 32-37.
• Cornog, Evan. The Birth of Empire: Dewitt Clinton and the American Experience, 1769-1828. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000.
• Engerman, Stanley L. and Jacob Metzer, eds. Land Rights, Ethno-Nationality, and Sovereignty in History. New York: Routledge, 2004.

More papers on Iroquois Land:

• Analytical Essay # 130533 : "Role of the Iroquois in the War of 1812"
• Term Paper # 128460 : "The Erie Canal"
• Analytical Essay # 56480 : "Native American and European American Cultural Differences"

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