The Great Law and the Longhouse
The Great Law and the Longhouse

Author: William Nelson Fenton

Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press

Published: 1998

Total Pages: 816

ISBN-13: 9780806130033

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The Great Law, a living tradition among the conservative Iroquois, is sustained by celebrating the condolence ceremony when they mourn a dead chief and install his successor for life on good behavior. This ritual act, reaching back to the dawn of history, maintains the League of the Iroquois, the legendary form of government that gave way over time to the Iroquois Confederacy. Fenton verifies historical accounts from his own long experience of Iroquois society, so that his political ethnography extends into the twentieth century as he considers in detail the relationship between customs and events. His main argument is the remarkable continuity of Iroquois political tradition in the face of military defeat, depopulation, territorial loss, and acculturation to European technology.

Red Jacket, Seneca Chief
Red Jacket, Seneca Chief

Author: Arthur Caswell Parker

Publisher: U of Nebraska Press

Published: 1998-01-01

Total Pages: 260

ISBN-13: 9780803287556

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This is the story of controversial Seneca chief and orator Red Jacket (ca. 1750-1830), whose passionate, articulate defense of the old ways won the admiration of many but also earned enmity from other tribal leaders. Red Jacket received a medal from George Washington as a token of friendship. This biography follows Red Jacket from boyhood through the Revolutionary War.

A History of Native American Land Rights in Upstate New York
A History of Native American Land Rights in Upstate New York

Author: Cindy Amrhein

Publisher: Arcadia Publishing

Published: 2016

Total Pages: 208

ISBN-13: 1626199310

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

A complex and troubled history defines the borders of upstate New York beyond the physical boundaries of its rivers and lakes. The United States and the state were often deceptive in their territory negotiations with the Iroquois Six Nations. Amidst the growing quest for more land among settlers and then fledgling Americans, the Indian nations attempted to maintain their autonomy. Yet state land continued to encroach the Six Nations. Local historian Cindy Amrhein takes a close and critical view of these transactions. Evidence of dubious deals, bribes, faulty surveys and coerced signatures may help explain why many of the Nations now feel they were cheated out of their territory.