Councillors

Restoring the Seneca Nation’s history

Reprinted from Indian Country Today. June 3rd, 2021.

We speak with the Seneca Nation about a peace medal given by President George Washington that is being returned.

Some quotes from today’s show.
Matthew B. Pagels:

“Well, more than a couple of centuries ago Red Jacket negotiated and signed the 1794 treaty of Canandaigua. During that time he was gifted a Peace Medal by George Washington, and that was 1792. Through that treaty the U.S. pledged to respect honor and defend the rights of the Haudenosaunee people, recognizing them as a sovereign and that sovereign nation to nation relationship endures to this day.”

“So the Buffalo History Museum actually had a replica onsite in the history museum. The actual was stored away. So I guess a yes and a no to that question. But they did house it and we were able to, with the hard work of the Buffalo museum and our new museum, the Seneca Allegheny Museum, we were able to get it back to where it rightfully belongs.”

“And we made some drastic changes. The council here of the Seneca Nation did amazing things to make sure that all of these services and benefits in which we deploy to our community were unaffected. But we had to tighten the belt and we had to slow down jobs and hires and still find a way to make do with what was the coronavirus. Cause we had no clue. We went into it thinking it was going- to be a month long, a two-week long flu season or something. But we quickly learned that this was a life changing event.”

It’s been a rocky year for tribes. And then, for the Seneca Nation of Indians, came a victory. The tribal constitution was established in 1848. And more than 50 years before that. President George Washington gifted the Seneca Chief Red Jacket a peace medal. It’s been gone from the Seneca people for more than 100 years. but now, it’s home. Joining us today to talk about the return of the peace medal is the Seneca President Matthew Pagels.