CORNPLANTER: THE GOOD CHIEF OF THE SENECA

While this website has explored and categorized numerous Indian chiefs of variously selected tribes of indigenous peoples of the Ohio Country, from time to time, there is always a story that is uniquely preserved from two points of view: one of those examples is Cornplanter, chief of the Seneca. His story is unique in the sense that he evolved into the spokesperson of his people as well as white settlers of the region. He took time, more than any chief from any tribe, to understand the whites and their ways. He made careful notations and was quite an astute negotiator in acquiring protection and securing peace treaties for his people and those of the surrounding tribes. He is also, like other chiefs before him, a tragically fallen figure whose storyline can be a significant learning structure for all coming generations of Native Americans as well as whites.

Life in the Ohio Country frontier was brutal. Endless wars between white settlers and Indian tribes were untrusting and soaked the land with blood of the fallen on both sides.  ¹ Born of a Seneca mother and Dutch father sometime in the years of 1732-46 (it is not officially known his exact year of birth), Cornplanter’s bloodline already made him, by no account of his own, somewhat of a celebrity among both representatives residing on this sometimes-barbaric soil. While he certainly was raised as a Seneca, he possessed a natural talent to assimilate himself among whites. His Seneca name ‘Gyantwachia’ means ‘planter’; because the Seneca possessed matrilineal heritage among males, it was because of this tradition that Cornplanter secured a position of status among the elders and, consequently, attained the rank of Warrior Chief. During the French and Indian War, Cornplanter and his tribe took to the side of the French against the English. His fame as a skilled intermediary spread and he soon secured himself a confident, though short-lived position in securing neutrality for his people. Wanting the Seneca to remain out of the conflict between the British and the Colonists, Cornplanter sought a means to his advantage by witnessing the conflict as a war that would eventually threaten the existence of all indigenous tribes in the Ohio Country; as the conflict pursued, both sides made numerous attempts to recruit the Seneca for their advantage, the British offering them food and rum; the colonists promising them land after ending of the conflict. Inevitably, and marking a huge mistake in their trust of the British, the Seneca allied themselves with them, albeit some elders voted against this alliance. Nevertheless, Seneca and another chief, Sayenqueraghta, were named and honored as the Four Chiefs of the tribes of the Mohawk, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca by Iroquois elders from other tribes whose authority extended into those tribes’ territories. This, of course, angered American Colonists and many wars continued to ensue in addition to fighting the British. Joining forces with Lt. Colonel William Butler, Cornplanter and his warriors fought a bloody battle in Pennsylvania in what would become known as the Wyoming Massacre. In this violent clash between the Seneca and the American patriots, many white settlers were killed and scalped, further dividing and inciting violence towards Indians in general; it is believed that over 300 settlers lost their lives in this struggle, and it also became known as one of the darkest episodes between Indians and whiter settlers in the Pennsylvania region. In bold response, the Seneca village of Tioga was burned to the ground, as well as  many of its inhabitants; to react, Cornplanter, and another famous Mohawk chief, Joseph Brant, along with the British, participated in fighting in present upstate New York that would be tragically known as the Cherry Valley Massacre. Sustaining a great loss of Colonists, General George Washington granted a full commission to John Sullivan, another Revolutionary General, to conduct a massive raid on all territory throughout the state of New York, burning villages to the ground, and capture and kill all Indian tribes within the vicinity. During this blood-thirsty retaliation, Cornplanter and Brant heroically attempted to save their people from starvation and execution by secretly obtaining many Indians and transported them into Canada. What is surprisingly not mentioned is they also saved the lives of the surrounding colonists who resided in the region, giving them food, water, and blankets to survive the unmerciful winter that was approaching.

As the War for Independence arrived at an end, Cornplanter quickly reacted to the advantage. He sought out Quakers and convinced them to educate Indian children and build schools in Seneca territories. He also took it upon himself to learn English, visit white cities and familiarize himself with English and Colonial customs; by doing so, Cornplanter was convinced that obtaining a peaceful means would benefit the preservation of Seneca and Native American societies During the War of 1812, he took up arms on the side of the Americans, hoping to secure a treaty that would permit his people to receive the benefits of security, land and food for his people. He even offered to the American Government 200 of his warriors to fight against the British at Lake Erie; the offer was declined.

As a result of his service to the American side, Cornplanter and his people were awarded 1,500 acres of land in Pennsylvania along the west bank of the Allegheny River, specifically near present-day Kinzua Dam in Warren County. The Federal Government claimed he and his people could reside on the land ‘forever’; this promise, like all other Indian promises created, would extinguish itself. In 1821, the citizens of Pennsylvania in the area demanded Cornplanter pay taxes on his land; in rebuttal to this he said, the ‘land had been given to him under the authority of your government and that I am exempt.’ After lengthy discussions, they concurred. While Cornplanter was impressed with Quaker Christian teachings, he never converted to any Christian faith; his half-brother, Handsome Lake, was a religious leader among the Seneca people, and Cornplnater, as he grew more distant from white society, promoted his brother’s view that Seneca people should place importance in continuing to practice the traditions of the tribes. 

Cornplanter died peacefully on his tract of land in 1836; he had requested to be buried without a marker. A piece of his eulogy is justly entered in this post as a tribute to a chief and warrior. Hon. John Ross Snowden, deputy attorney general in Pennsylvania, recited this about him: “He was a dauntless warrior and wisest statesperson of his nation, the patriarch of this tribe and the peacemaker of his race. He was a model man from nature’s mold. Truth, temperance, justice and humanity never had a nobler incarnation or more earnest and consistent advocate than him. As we loved him personally, and revere the noble, manly character he bore, we erect this tribute to his memory, that those who live after us may know and imitate his virtues.”

In 1965, the Allegheny Reservoir, along with the construction of the Kinzua Dam in Warren County, commenced; the final resting place of Cornplanter and over 300 of his descendants were relocated to the Riverview Corydon Cemetery in Elk Township, Warren County, Pennsylvania. Throughout parts of northwestern Pennsylvania, the Seneca nation flourished and preserved their way of life through religion, culture, history and adopted many white settlers ways of life into theirs. Near the Kinzua Dam is where Cornplanter and his people established one of the most proficient and productive Native American residencies in the entire Nation! It is now all but lost. In 2008, the Federal Government attempted to mark places to accurately establish Seneca locations with historical markers throughout the region and preserve the final resting place of hundreds of Seneca peoples; it has never been officially completed. The Seneca that once thrived with the original indigenous peoples of Pennsylvania have been submerged under the waters of the Allegheny Reservoir. When the Treaty of Paris ended the Revolutionary War, the British Empire ceded the land in all thirteen colonies to America; consequently, thousands of colonists were claiming large parts of it as their own; it was not theirs to claim. It belonged, as we know, to the Native Americans of unnumbered tribes, languages, customs, and cultures. After the construction of the Kinzua Dam commenced, the Seneca were forced to locate to the Allegheny Reservation where they reside today. Just a tiny portion of Cornplanter’s land is still owned by his descendants in Warren County, Pennsylvania. Recently, the Seneca Nation of Indians Tribal Historic Preservation Office, The Pennsylvania Historical Society and The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are in the process of preparing negotiations for a National Register Nomination to have this area designated as Traditional Cultural Property.

Cornplanter made a powerful and lasting contribution to his people. But he also created relations with white settlers, though himself engaged in violent warfare with them from time to time, that would be of outstanding benefit to both oppositions. He understood, more than any chief in his own time, how valuable it was too secure even contestable treaties that would encase the survival and endearment of his people’s identity. He was mischievous and profoundly astute and ruthless when it was required. As a result, the Seneca people have left the Ohio Country a colorful and richly illustrated ambience that still manifests through town names, locations and even dialects of Pennsylvania, New York and those who reside along Lake Ontario. Ohio is a Seneca word (o-hee-yoh) that means ‘good river.’ 

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1. See Betts, William W. (2010). The Hatchet and the Plow: The Life and Times of Chief Cornplanter.