The Other November 11th

While we are pondering Veteran's Day,  we need to remember the other November 11th: The Treaty of Canandaigua between the United States Government and the Haudenosaunee /Iroquios Confederacy.  It is also known as the Pickering Treaty after the official that negotiated it. 

For what it is worth,  we owe much of how our government is structured and run to this Confederacy.  I've read a bit about it and the British model falls short.

The US government under Geoge Washington negotiated this treaty to bring peace between the two nations.  The US was young and experiencing many problems and troubles.  Peace with the Iroquois Nation was a welcome victory to this fledgling nation.

In this treaty the US and Iroquios nations made many agreements over land, annuities, and many other legal issues.  And the US and NY governments have worked to twist the reading of the Treaty to suit the purpose of the government at that moment in time.

Never mind that the Constitution sets a treaty as a law.  The US and NY governments are not known for upholding the law when it suits their purposes.

I cite the disaster known as the Buffalo Creek Treaty. The Seneca Nation was lied to badly about that and many other agreements.

And the Oil Springs flooding for a canal system that was defunct shortly after it was inaugurated.

I cite land seizures, such as the Kinzua Dam and NY Thruway through the Cattaraugus Territory.  Neither gave the Nations affected appropriate compensation.  Also the Route 17 conversion to Federal Route 86.

I  cite the Casino Compact with the payments that expired and NY's violation of the treaty with private Upstate casinos.

There are many more violations that the Iroquois Confederacy and Seneca Nation can attest to. I'm sure the Tuscarora can contribute as well. And the other Nations too. I am focusing here on Western NY.

We need to remember this Treaty and honor it by coming to a common understanding of the language and what it means.  Not the twisted lawyer speak thatit has been turned into,  but as a Treaty of Peace and Understanding with responsibilities for both sides.

And it would be nice if the US and NY governments stopped twisting the words and trying to terminate the Nations that helped us win independence from England. 

Read the Treaty and honor it.
Take some time to visit Ganondagan in Victor and the Seneca Iroquois National Museum in Salamanca.
Learn about the people whose kand you now live on.