The Seneca Nation was joined by state and local officials to commemorate the signing of the 1842 Buffalo Creek Treaty in West Seneca today. The treaty is still hailed by some Seneca leaders as a triumph in ensuring Seneca people were able to maintain traditional lands at a time of American expansionism.
The third Buffalo Creek Treaty signed in 1842, secured present-day Seneca territories of Allegany, Cattaraugus and Oil Springs that were at-risk of being taken over by land speculator companies, like those run by Peter Skene Ogden. Current Seneca leaders, like councilor and former president Todd Gates, said this treaty includes terms integral to the nation’s benefit today.
“The terms of this treaty today are important, not even for what little land we have left, but also for the protection from taxation, assessment and encroachment," said Gates. "Treaties, as described in the U.S. Constitution, are made between nations. We always have to remember that they are called the supreme law of the land.”
When the negotiations began for the 1842 Buffalo Creek Treaty, Seneca people were on the cusp of being removed from their traditional lands under President Andrew Jackson’s Indian removal policies.
Seneca Nation Legal Counsel deputy Lee Redeye said the treaty had significance for all Haudenosaunee people
“The 1842 treaty would not have been necessary but for the fraudulent Treaty of 1838 which contemplated the sale of all remaining Seneca lands to [Peter] Ogden and fellows, and removal of the entire body of the Seneca people to a new tract of land west of the state of Missouri and the Kansas territory," he said.
While positives of the treaty were at the forefront, Councilor Odie Porter said it’s important not to forget it also led to the dissolution of the Buffalo Creek territory, which spanned much of central Erie County. Porter said governments still impede current Seneca territories, as evidenced by the I-90.
“70 years ago, New York State just trespassed right through the Cattaraugus territory and took nearly three miles of right of our land," she said. "And that land could be used for housing today, it could be used for fishing, hunting, and it was pretty disruptive. And that dispute is still in the courts, but it's something that is relevant today.”
The Buffalo Creek Treaty commemoration is an annual event held at the Charles Burchfield Nature and Art Center in West Seneca.
