View source for Seneca people

{{Infobox ethnic group
| group            = Seneca<br />''Onödowáʼga꞉''
| flag             = 
| image            = Iroquois 6 Nations map c1720.png
| caption          = Map of the Iroquois with the Seneca, "Keepers of the West Door", to the west (c. 1720).
| population       = 11,000
| regions          = {{Flag|United States}}<br />({{Flag|New York}}, {{Flag|Oklahoma}})<br />{{flagcountry|Canada}}<br />({{Flag|Ontario}})
| region2          = [[Cattaraugus Reservation, Erie County, New York|Cattaraugus Reservation]]
| pop2             = 2,412
| ref2             = <ref>(2000 Census)</ref>
| region3          = [[Tonawanda Reservation]]
| pop3             = 543
| ref3             = 
| region4          = Six Nations Territory
| pop4             = 
| ref4             = 
| region5          = [[Allegany Reservation, New York|Allegany Reservation]]
| pop5             = 1,099
| ref5             = 
| region6          = Niagara Falls Territory
| pop6             = Ontario
| ref6             = 
| region7          = Buffalo Creek Territory
| pop7             = 
| ref7             = 
| region8          = Seneca-Cayuga Territory
| pop8             = 
| ref8             = 
| region9          = Seneca Aboriginal Territory
| pop9             = 
| ref9             = 
| region10         = Todiakton Territory
| pop10            = 
| ref10            = 
| region11         = 
| pop11            = 
| ref11            = 
| languages        = [[Seneca language|Seneca]], [[English language|English]]
| religions        = [[Longhouse Religion|Longhouse]] ([[Handsome Lake]]), ''Kai'hwi'io'',  ''Kanoh'hon'io'',  ''Kahni'kwi'io'', Christian denominations
| related          = [[Onondaga Nation]], [[Oneida Nation]], [[Tuscarora Nation]], [[Mohawk Nation]], [[Cayuga Nation]], other [[Iroquoian]] peoples
}}

The '''Seneca''' ([[Help:IPA/English|/ˈsɛnɪkə/]]) ([[Seneca language|Seneca]]: ''Onödowáʼga:'', "Great Hill People") are [[Iroquois]] [[Native American]]s. They lived around [[Lake Ontario]]. They are part of the [[Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands|Northeastern Woodlands]] culture. They speak the [[Seneca language]]. This language is part of the [[Iroquoian Language|Iroquoian]] language family. The Seneca were one of the Six Nations or [[Iroquois|Iroquois League]]. They are the most westerly nation of the Iroquois. They were next to the [[Cayuga people|Cayuga]]. They were also the largest nation of the Iroquois. The US government recognizes three tribes today. They are the [[Seneca Nation of Indians]] ([[New York (state)|New York]]), the [[Tonawanda Band of Seneca|Tonawanda Seneca Nation]] (New York) and the [[Seneca-Cayuga Nation]] ([[Oklahoma]]). About 10,000 Seneca natives live in the United States and 1,000 in Canada.<ref>{{Cite web|title=History|url=https://sni.org/culture/history/|access-date=2022-08-16|website=SNI|language=en-US}}</ref>

== History ==
=== Early History and Culture ===
The Seneca were originally from New York State. They joined the Iroquois Confederacy in the 12th century.<ref>Bruce E. Johansen (Fall 1995). "Dating the Iroquois Confederacy" (PDF). ''Akwesasne Notes''. New Series. '''01''' (3/04): 62–3.</ref>  The Seneca had the largest population of the Iroquois nations.<ref>Anthony F.C. Wallace, ''The Death and Rebirth of the Seneca'' (New York: Vintage Books, 1969). [[ISBN (identifier)|ISBN]] [[Special:BookSources/0-394-71699-X|0-394-71699-X]]</ref>

Seneca lived in [[longhouse]]s in permanent villages. The largest village was [[Ganondagan State Historic Site|Ganondagan]] with 150 longhouses. There were threats of war from neighboring Natives. These Natives included the [[Wyandot people|Huron]] (Wyandot) the [[Susquehannock]] (Conestoga) and the [[Lenape|Lenape people]] (Delaware, Minnisink and Esopus). The Seneca were strong warriors and captured other towns. Their territory was in Eastern New York. It was between Seneca Lake and [[Genesee River]]. It was also in [[New York (state)|New York]] from [[Niagara County, New York|Niagara Country]] to the [[Allegheny River|Allegheny river]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=About Us - Seneca Nation of Indians|url=https://sni.org/about/|access-date=2022-08-16|website=SNI|language=en-US}}</ref> Seneca was divided into a western and eastern branch.

Seneca did hunting and gathering. They also farmed the [[Three Sisters (agriculture)|Three Sisters]] ([[Maize|corn]], [[bean]]s, and [[Squash (fruit)|squash]]). Women grew these plants and collected plants, roots, berries, nuts, and fruit. The Seneca society was [[Matrilineality|matrilineal]]. This meant inheritance and family were through the mother's side. However, women were not much in politics and diplomacy. Seneca men developed towns. Men also went hunting in the fall and fishing in the spring.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Seneca {{!}} History, Culture, & Traditions {{!}} Britannica|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Seneca-people|access-date=2022-08-16|website=www.britannica.com|language=en}}</ref>

=== Expansion and Power ===
Seneca joined the [[Fur trade]]. In the 17th century, the Iroquois confederacy conquered neighboring territories. The Iroquois replace people who died from disease with captives. The Iroquois defeated the [[Wyandot people|Huron]] (Wyandot). The Senecas also defeated the [[Neutral Nation|Neutral confederacy]] in 1650 in the west. They defeated the [[Andaste]] (Susquehannock) in the south. The Seneca had strong diplomacy in the region.<ref>Folts, James D. ''The Westward Migration of the Munsee Indians in the Eighteenth Century, The Challenge: An Algonquian Peoples Seminar.Map 4''. Albany: New York State Bulletin No. 506, 2005. p. 32.</ref> The Seneca led a powerful confederacy with the [[Cayuga people|Cayuga]], [[Onondaga people|Onondagas]], [[Oneida people|Oneidas]], [[Mohawk people|Mohawks]] and later the [[Tuscarora people|Tuscaroras]]. The Seneca were the "Keepers of the West Door" or "Door-Keepers". The Seneca sent eight [[sachem]]s to the [[Great Council]] of the Iroquois.<ref>Waldman, Carl. Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes. United States: Facts On File, Incorporated, 2014.p. 259.</ref>

=== European Contact ===
Seneca had different interactions with Europeans. The French [[Marquis de Denonville]] led an attack against the Seneca people in 1687. He destroyed many towns, including [[Ganondagan State Historic Site|Ganondagan]]. The Iroquois were allies with the British in the Covenant Chain.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title=Seneca nation - New World Encyclopedia|url=https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Seneca_nation|access-date=2022-08-16|website=www.newworldencyclopedia.org}}</ref> The Seneca eventually were allies with the [[Dutch Empire|Dutch]] and the [[British Empire|British]] during the [[Seven Years' War|Seven Year's War]]. There was much conflict between Seneca and American colonists. Seneca did not support the [[Treaties of Fort Stanwix|Treaty of Fort Stanwix]]. They did not like that Americans were moving West into their land. Many colonists also had negative views about the Iroquois. The British tried to get the Iroquois on their side.<ref name=":0">Raphael, Ray (2001). ''A People's History of the American Revolution: How Common People Shaped the Fight for Independence''. New York: New Press. pp. 247. [[ISBN (identifier)|ISBN]] [[Special:BookSources/9781565846531|<bdi>9781565846531</bdi>]].</ref>

=== American Revolution ===
[[File:Ah-Weh-Eyu.jpg|thumb|Seneca woman Ah-Weh-Eyu (Pretty Flower), 1908.]]
The Seneca eventually supported the British during the [[American Revolutionary War|American Revolution]]. Some Iroquois wanted to support Americans and others not. This conflict led to the division of the Iroquois Confederacy. Seneca fought with British in the [[Cherry Valley massacre]] and the [[Battle of Minisink]]. The Seneca and Iroquois had victories against the colonists from 1777 to 1778. In response, General [[John Sullivan|John Sullivan (general)]] led a planned attack against the Iroquois. Sullivan and his troops destroyed villages and weakened the Iroquois.<ref name=":0" /> The Iroquois Confederacy fell apart.

=== After the American Revolution ===
After the American Revolution, Seneca lost much land. They gave up lands in the [[Treaty of Canandaigua]] (1794) and [[Treaty of Big Tree]] (1797). In the [[Second Treaty of Buffalo Creek|Treaty of Buffalo Creek]] (1838), the Seneca had to move to [[Missouri]].<ref>Merrill, Arch. ''Land of the Senecas.'' New York: American Book-Stratford Press, 1949.</ref> Many Seneca people moved to Canada after the war. The [[Seneca Nation of Indians]] in New York formed a modern republican government in 1848.<ref name=":1" />

Many Senecas lost land so the [[Kinzau Dam]] could be built in the 1960s.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-01-30|title=The complicated history of the Kinzua Dam and how it changed life for the Seneca people|url=https://www.ehn.org/seneca-nation-kinzua-dam-2644943791/particle-2|access-date=2022-08-16|website=EHN|language=en}}</ref>

== Today ==
Most members of the Seneca live in New York. There are about 8,000 members of the [[Seneca Nation of Indians]] . They live on six reservations. They include Allegany, the Cattaraugus near [[Gowanda, New York]]; the Buffalo Creek Territory, the Niagara Falls Territory in [[Niagara Falls, New York]], and the Oil Springs Reservation. [[Tonawanda Band of Seneca|Tonawanda Band of Seneca Indians]] has about 1,200 citizens. They live  Tonawanda Reservation near [[Akron, New York]]. The Seneca-Cayuga Tribe of Oklahoma live near [[Miami, Oklahoma]].

The Seneca have diverse businesses. These include [[Retail|retail sales]], arts and crafts, smokeshops, sports clothing, gasoline and cigarette sales and casinos.

== Notable Seneca ==
* [[Red Jacket]] 
* [[Cornplanter]] 
* [[Handsome Lake]] 
* [[Little Beard]] 
* [[Chief John Big Tree|John Big Tree]]
* [[Ely S. Parker|Ely Parker]]
* [[Arthur C. Parker]] 
* [[Jesse Cornplanter]] 
* [[Paula Underwood]]

== Related pages ==
* [[Iroquois]] 
* [[New York (state)]]  
* [[Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands]]

== References ==
<references />

[[Category:Native Americans]]