Allegany Territory
October 7, 1966 – By referendum Seneca women gained the right to hold elected office. In October of 1965 Seneca women petitioned Council for the right to hold office in the Nation’s government. It was just the year before in 1964 that the women gained the right to vote. Of 1,300 eligible voters only 300 voted in the referendum that saw the women gain the right to hold elected office by a narrow, six-vote margin (146 yes, 140 no). Fifty-four year old Martha Bucktooth became the first Seneca woman to seek and win political office when she ran for assessor a few weeks later on the New Deal ticket in the November election. George Heron, a former president and administrator of the Nation, called it a milestone and said, “Mrs. Bucktooth is courageous, and has true pioneer spirit to tread where no other Seneca woman has tread before – the Seneca political field.”
October 18, 1899 – According to an article in The Buffalo Commercial “Bemus Pierce has proved himself just the man to coach U of B [University of Buffalo]. The players are delighted with his work and the rooters who get to the field to watch the practice are wild over the stalwart Indian. Pierce weighs 207 pounds but is as agile as a featherweight boxer. He is tall, broad shouldered and a model of physical strength. . . . Pierce pounded one fact home which is good. He said: ‘Get the plays you have perfectly. If you only have six plays and have them perfectly it is much better than if you had fifty and played them poorly.’ The Indian gets right into the game and watches every move.” Bemus led a dominating UB team that season defeating their six college opponents (Rochester, Case Tech, Syracuse, Hobart, Western Reserve, Bucknell), but fell in their one game against a professional club team, Duquesne. Born on Cattaraugus in 1875, Bemus was the eldest child of Jacob and Jane Pierce. Bemus and brothers Hawley and Jerry attended Carlisle Indian Industrial School and were standout athletes. Bemus also coached football at Sherman Institute, Carlisle, Haskell, Kenyon College, and Lafayette High School, as well as played professional football along with his brother Hawley, who himself shares credit for development of the overhead spiral forward pass.
October 20, 1956 – In response to a letter requesting permission from the Seneca Nation to permit a survey of Allegany lands for the planned construction of the Kinzua Dam, a motion by Councillors Alton Van Aernam and 2nd by Guy Patterson instructing President Leo Cooper to deny the right-of-entry was unanimously carried. This was considered the start of the fight opposing the construction of the Kinzua Dam. According to the minutes of the Council session, Cornelius Seneca “gave an illuminating talk on the background of the Kinzua Dam Project” and was very much opposed. Andrew Jackson expressed the feelings of the public and was likewise opposed.
