New York Archives – Page 96 of 148

Kateri Tekakwitha, Mohawk Women, Auriesville, New York

This Indian girl has been called, the Indian saint. She was born in 1656 at Candaouga, a Mohawk Village located on the south bank of the Mohawk River near where Auriesville now stands. Later she moved with her parents to Caughnawaga, a village of the Turtle Clan, located on the north side of the Mohawk River. Through the influence of three Jesuit priests, who visited her father, she learned of the Christian religion. On Easter Sunday, 1675, she was Baptized by Father LamberviIle. As a young woman she was skilled in doing work as Indian girls were accustomed to do … Read more

A Treatise of the Six Nation Indians

As knowledge of the traditions, manners, and national traits of the Indians, composing, originally, the six distinct and independent tribes of the Mohawks, Tuscarora, Onondagas, Seneca, Oneidas, and Cayuga; tribes now merged in, and known as, the Six Nations, possibly, does not extend beyond the immediate district in which they have effected a lodgement, I have laid upon myself the task of tracing their history from the date of their settlement in the County of Brant, entering, at the same time, upon such accessory treatment as would seem to be naturally suggested or embraced by the plan I have set … Read more

The Schools of the Six Nation’s

The Indian as an Artist

Six Nation Indian’s Intellectual Gifts

The Indian has little hope of occupying a sphere, where the discipline and cultivation of the mind shall be essential to the proper balancing and developing of its powers, and shall render it equal to the collision with other keen intellects. It would, therefore, be equally idle and unprofitable to attempt to measure his mental capabilities, until we shall have experience of his intellectuality, with proper stimulating and inciting influences in play, or under circumstances, conducing, generally, to mental strength and vigor, to note; and which we may employ as a reliable basis for judgment; and it would be manifestly … Read more

The Great Central Trail Of The Long House, Route 5, New York

The Iroquois Indians were the trail makers for the early settlers of New York State and its surrounding territory. The white people landed here, strangers in a strange land. They met the Indian who was a woodsman without an equal. The Iroquois knew his country. He knew water courses, elevations and passes through the mountains. His race had used them for centuries. The Iroquois trails formed the first basis of water and land travel. The present day railroads and highways are based on information given to the early whites by the Indian, and particularly by the Iroquois Indian. A far … Read more

Ely S. Parker Homestead, Tonawanda Reservation

Ely Parker was a Seneca Indian of the Wolf Clan. He was born on the Tonawanda Seneca Reservation in 1832. His boyhood name was Hasanoanda ‘Coming to the Front’. Later he was made a chief of his clan and received the title, Do-ne-ho-ga-weh ‘He Holds The Door Open’. Ely Parker received an academic education and studied law and civil engineering. At Galena, Illinois, while he was employed as an engineer on a government project, he met Ulysses S. Grant. He became a close friend of Grant. This friendship continued till death. Ely Parker took part in the Civil War of … Read more

Emily Pauline Johnson, Mohawk Poetess, Six Nation Country

Mary Anderson Longboat, an Indian of the Six Nations Reservation, says the following of this remarkable woman: “We of the Six Nations Reserve, honour our Indian poetess, Emily Pauline Johnson. She is more than just a memory, for she lives today in her books which are read throughout the world. In her lifetime, her recitations were equally famous. We are especially proud that she boasted her nationality, and in her native buckskin costume was accepted, even by royalty. As a poetess, Miss Johnson was not great, not a Tennyson nor a Browning, but as Gilbert Parker writes, “Canadian Literature would … Read more

Six Nation Chiefs And Their Functions

The dignity of a chief comes to the holder through the principle of hereditary succession, confined to, and operating only with, certain families. In the cage of the death of one of these chiefs, the distinction and powers he enjoyed devolve upon his kinsman, though not necessarily upon the next of kin. The naming and appointing of a successor, and the adjudicating upon the point as to whether he fulfils the qualifications esteemed necessary to maintain the dignity of the chiefship, are confided to the oldest woman of the tribe, thus deprived by death of one of its heads. She … Read more

The Six Nations Indian’s Conditions of Settlement

The conditions which govern the Indian’s occupation of his Reserve are, probably, so well known, that any extended reference under this head will be needless. He ceded the whole of his land to the Government, this comprising, originally, a tract which pursued the entire length of the Grand River, and, accepting it as the radiating point, extended up from either side of the river for a distance of six miles, to embrace an area of that extent. The Government required the proprietary right to the land, in the event of their either desiring to maintain public highways through it themselves, … Read more

Notice of the Miscotins and Assigunaigs

Among the traditions which float in the minds of the Algonquin tribes who occupy the shores of the upper Lakes, are the names of the two now unknown tribes which are mentioned above. Over these they recite triumphs, in a long continued war. The residence of the Miscotins is identified with vestiges of human labor and residence at several points on the shores of Lakes Huron and Michigan. They are represented as having been driven south into the general area of the present States of Illinois and Wisconsin.

Mineralogical and Geographical Notices

Mineralogical And Geographical Notices, Denoting The Value Of Aboriginal Territory. 1. Wisconsin and Iowa Lead Ore A correspondent, engaged in the practical working of these ores, remarks: “By the box of specimens transmitted, you will be able to judge of the character of these valuable ores. The square broken mineral is taken from east and west leads; which is of the softest temperature and most easy to smelt; it also produces the most lead, yielding about 50 per cent, from the log, and about 15 from the ash furnaces. The dark smooth pieces are taken from deep clay digging hi … Read more

Oneida Stone, An Aboriginal Palladium

Characteristic traits, in the history of races, often develop themselves in connection with the general or local features of a country, or even with some minor object in its natural history. There is a remarkable instance of this development of aboriginal mind in the history of the Oneidas. This tribe derives its name from a celebrated stone, (a view of which is annexed) which lies partly imbedded in the soil, on one of the highest eminences in the territory formerly occupied by that tribe, in Western New York. This ancient and long-remembered object in the surface geology of the country, … Read more

Union of the Western Indians

Valley of the Genesee

Witchcraft–Case of Tom. Jemmy

In the spring of 1821, a man belonging to Red Jacket’s tribe, fell into a languishing condition, and after lingering for some time, unable to obtain relief, died. The “medicine men” were unable to divine the cause of his malady; the circumstances of his sickness and death, were thought to be very peculiar, and his friends could discover no better way of explaining the matter, than to suppose he had been bewitched. The Indians believed in sorcery, and at different times in their history had been known to execute summary judgment, on those whom they supposed to be guilty of … Read more