The Seneca Indians were a prominent tribe in the Iroquois nation, with reservations in western New York and Canada. They were sedentary, grew crops, hunted, and were known for their warfare skills. They had a representative democracy and allied with the Dutch and British. Their language, Ogwehoweh, is fading.
The Seneca Indians are a tribal people native to the New York area in the northeastern part of the United States. They were generally the most prominent and largest of the five tribes comprising the Iroquois nation. There are three Seneca reservations in western New York, along with one reservation in Canada that is open to all members of the Iroquois Nation. The tribe shares a reservation in Oklahoma with the Cayuga Tribe. In their own language, the Seneca call themselves Onandowaga, which means “hill people” or “mountain people.”
Historically, the Seneca were generally a sedentary people. They usually lived in long narrow houses along the river, covered with elm bark, and had fortified villages with fences. Agriculture provided a fairly large portion of their diet, and they grew corn, beans, and squash, which were commonly known as the three sister crops among the Indian tribes of the Iroquois Nation. The Seneca Indians also hunted and fished to supplement their agricultural efforts.
Warfare was one of the areas in which the Seneca Indians were known to excel. They conquered the lands of many other Indian tribes over the centuries and after making contact with the Dutch they gained access to weapons. Like most other tribes of the Iroquois nation, Seneca warriors covered themselves in tattoos and shaved their heads in a distinctive Mohawk style.
In historical times, the Seneca Indians were governed with a form of representative democracy. The elder women of the tribe would vote to select a tribal chief, who would represent the tribe with the Iroquois council. Any tribal chief could be removed if she doesn’t do her job well enough or if there are signs of corruption. This is generally considered to be one of the prime examples American ancestors drew on when creating the United States system of government.
After the Dutch arrived in the early 1600s, the Seneca Indians and all Iroquois nations allied with them for access to rifles and other steel weapons. Later, they fought with the British during the Revolutionary War. One of the more famous chieftains of the tribe was known as the Red Jacket because he was given such a garment by a British officer. Once the war was over, the Seneca negotiated a peace treaty with the US government and began settling on various reservations.
The Seneca language, which is called Ogwehoweh, is considered difficult to learn and is slowly starting to fade, although there has been a movement to preserve it. Some older members of the tribe are still fluent in Ogwehoweh, but most of the children are just learning to speak English.
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