THE BUFFALO CREEK TREATIES

By 1838, four Seneca reservations remained: Allegany, Cattaraugus, Buffalo Creek, and Tonawanda. That year, the infamous Treaty of Buffalo Creek was signed, in which all of the Seneca lands were sold to the Ogden Land Company, and the Seneca were to move out west, to Indian Territory, in lands that are now Kansas. This treaty was notorious, even at the time, for being blatantly fraudulent. Bribery, forgery, and deception were used to obtain Seneca signatures. Almost immediately, the Seneca refused to abide by the treaty, and efforts were made to negotiate a new treaty.

In 1842, a second treaty was secured, known as the Second Treaty of Buffalo Creek, or the “Compromise” Treaty. This treaty, negotiated with assistance by Quaker missionaries, saved the Allegany and Cattaraugus reservations, but confirmed the sale of Buffalo Creek and Tonawanda. The Senecas living at Tonawanda had not participated in these negotiations, and refused to abide by this treaty as well. They separated themselves from the rest of the Seneca nation, and became the Tonawanda Band of Senecas. The Chiefs at Tonawanda then commenced work on retaining title to their reservation.

Return to Handsome Lake and the Treaties of the 1820s Page

Return to Tonawanda Reservation Page