Seneca people
The Seneca (/ˈsɛnɪkə/ SEN-ik-ə;[2] Seneca: Onödowáʼga:, lit. 'Great Hill People')[3] are a group of Indigenous Iroquoian-speaking people who historically lived south of Lake Ontario, one of the five Great Lakes in North America. Their nation was the farthest to the west within the Six Nations or Iroquois League (Haudenosaunee) in New York before the American Revolution. For this reason, they are called “The Keepers of the Western Door.”[4]
For other uses, see Seneca (disambiguation).Total population
In the 21st century, more than 10,000 Seneca live in the United States, which has three federally recognized Seneca tribes. Two of them are centered in New York: the Seneca Nation of Indians, with five territories in western New York near Buffalo; and the Tonawanda Seneca Nation. The Seneca-Cayuga Nation is in Oklahoma, where their ancestors were relocated from Ohio during the Indian Removal. Approximately 1,000 Seneca live in Canada, near Brantford, Ontario, at the Six Nations of the Grand River First Nation. They are descendants of Seneca who resettled there after the American Revolution, as they had been allies of the British and forced to cede much of their lands.
Name[edit]
The Seneca's own name for themselves is Onödowáʼga:, meaning "Great Hill People"[3] The exonym Seneca is "the Anglicized form of the Dutch pronunciation of the Mohegan rendering of the Iroquoian ethnic appellative" originally referring to the Oneida. The Dutch applied the name Sennecaas promiscuously to the four westernmost nations, the Oneidas, Onondaga, Cayugas, and Senecas, but with increasing contact the name came to be applied only to the latter. The French called them Sonontouans.[5]
Leased land disputes[edit]
The United States Senate has never ratified the treaty that New York made with the Iroquois nations, and only Congress has the right to make such treaties. In the late 20th century, several tribes filed suit in land claims, seeking to regain their traditional lands by having the treaty declared invalid. The Seneca had other issues with New York and had challenged some long-term leases in court.
The dispute centers around a set of 99–year leases that were granted by the Seneca in 1890 for lands that are now in the city of Salamanca and nearby villages. In 1990, Congress passed the Seneca Settlement Act to resolve the long-running land dispute. The Act required the state to pay compensation and to provide some lands. The households that refused to accept Seneca ownership, fifteen in all, were evicted from their homes.[79] Then, in the early 2000s issues re-arose over Seneca use of settlement lands to establish casino gaming operations, which have generated considerable revenues for many tribes since the late 20th century.[80]
Grand Island claims[edit]
On August 25, 1993, the Seneca filed suit in United States District Court to begin an action to reclaim land allegedly taken from it by New York without having gained required approval of the treaty by the US Senate. Only the US government has the constitutional power to make treaties with the Native American nations. The lands consisted of Grand Island and several smaller islands in the Niagara River. in November 1993, the Tonawanda Band of Seneca Indians moved to join the claim as a plaintiff and was granted standing as a plaintiff.
In 1998, the United States intervened in the lawsuits on behalf of the plaintiffs in the claim to allow the claim to proceed against New York. The state had asserted that it was immune from suit under the Eleventh Amendment to the United States Constitution.[81] After extensive negotiations and pre-trial procedures, all parties to the claim moved for judgment as a matter of law.
By decision and order dated June 21, 2002, the trial court held that the Seneca ceded the subject lands to Great Britain in the 1764 treaties of peace after the French and Indian War (Seven Years' War). Thus, the disputed lands were no longer owned by the Seneca at the time of the 1794 Treaty of Canandaigua. The court found that the state of New York's "purchase" of the lands from the Seneca in 1815 was intended to avoid conflict with them, but it already owned it by virtue of Great Britain's defeat in the Revolution and the cession of its lands to the United States (and by default to the states in which the colonial lands were located.[82]
The Seneca appealed the decision. The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed the trial court's decision on September 9, 2004.[83] The Seneca sought review of this decision by the US Supreme Court, which on June 5, 2006, announced that it declined to hear the case, which left the lower court rulings in place.[84]
Thruway claims[edit]
On April 18, 2007, the Seneca Nation laid claim to a stretch of Interstate 90 that crosses the Cattaraugus Reservation for about three miles, in a section that runs on the northeast side of the lake from Erie, Pennsylvania to Buffalo, New York. They said that a 1954 agreement between the Seneca Nation and the New York State Thruway Authority, which granted the state permission to build the highway through their reservation in return for US $75,000, was invalid because it required federal approval.[85] The lawsuit demands that some of the toll money collected by the Thruway Authority for the use of this three-mile stretch of the highway be remitted to the Nation.[85][86] In 2011, Seneca President Robert Odawi Porter said that the Nation should be paid $1 every time a vehicle drives that part of the highway, amounting to tens of millions of dollars.[87] The Nation also disputed the state's attempts to collect cigarette taxes and casino revenue from tribal businesses operating within Seneca sovereign territory.[86] As of 2020, the lawsuit over the thruway was ongoing.[85]
The Seneca had previously brought suit against the state on the issue of highway easements. The court in 1999 had ruled that the State could not be sued by the tribe.[88] In Magistrate Heckman's "Report and Recommendation", it was noted that the State of New York asserted its immunity from suit against both counts of the complaint. One count was the Seneca Tribe's challenge regarding the state's acquisition of Grand Island and other smaller islands in the Niagara River, and the second count challenged the state's thruway easement.
Economy[edit]
Diversified businesses[edit]
The Seneca have a diversified economy that relies on construction, communications, recreation, tourism, and retail sales. They have recently started operating two tribal-owned gaming casinos and recreation complexes.
Several large construction companies are located on the Cattaraugus and Allegany Territories. Many smaller construction companies are owned and operated by Seneca people. A considerable number of Seneca men work in some facet of the construction industry.
Recreation is one component of Seneca enterprises. The Highbanks Campground (reopened May 2015 after being closed in 2013)[89] plays host to visitors in summer, as people take in the scenic vistas and enjoy the Allegheny Reservoir. Several thousand fishing licenses are sold each year to non-Seneca fishermen. Many of these customers are tourists to the region. Several major highways adjacent to or on the Seneca Nation Territories provide ready accessibility to local, regional and national traffic. Many tourists visit the region during the autumn for the fall foliage.
A substantial portion of the Seneca economy revolves around retail sales. From gas stations, smokeshops, and sports apparel, candles and artwork to traditional crafts, the wide range of products for sale on Seneca Nation Territories reflect the diverse interests of Seneca Nation citizens.
Seneca Medical Marijuana Initiative[edit]
According to Bill Wagner, an author writing for High Times, "Members of the Seneca Nation of Indians in western New York state voted up a referendum Nov. 3 (2016) giving tribal leaders approval to move towards setting up a medical marijuana business on their territories. The measure passed by a vote of 448-364, giving the Seneca Nation Council the power to draft laws and regulations allowing the manufacture, use and distribution of cannabis for medical purposes. "A decision on our Nation's path of action on medical cannabis is far from made", cautioned Seneca President Maurice A. John Sr. in comments to the Buffalo News. "But now, having heard from the Seneca people, our discussions and due diligence can begin in earnest."[90] Entering the marijuana industry is thought to help stimulate the economy of the Seneca Tribe and create local business, dispensaries and other types of jobs involving medical marijuana.
Tax-free gasoline and cigarette sales[edit]
The price advantage of the Senecas' ability to sell tax-free gasoline and cigarettes has created a boom in their economy. They have established many service stations along the state highways that run through the reservations, as well as many internet cigarette stores. Competing business interests and the state government object to their sales over the Internet. The state of New York believes that the tribe's sales of cigarettes by Internet are illegal. It also believes that the state has the authority to tax non-Indians who patronize Seneca businesses, a principle which the Seneca reject.
Seneca President Barry Snyder has defended the price advantage as an issue of sovereignty. Secondly, he has cited the Treaty of Canandaigua and Treaty of Buffalo Creek as the basis of Seneca exemption from collecting taxes on cigarettes to pay the state.[91]
The Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court, Third Department had rejected this conclusion in 1994.[92] The court held that the provisions of the treaty regarding taxation was only with regard to property taxes. The New York Court of Appeals on December 1, 1994 affirmed the lower court's decision.[93]
The Seneca have refused to extend these benefits and price advantages to non-Indians, in their own words "has little sympathy for outsiders" who desire to do so,[94] They have tried to prosecute non-Indians who have attempted to claim the price advantages of the Seneca while operating a business on the reservation. Little Valley businessman Lloyd Long operated two Uni-Marts on the reservation which were owned by a Seneca woman. He was arrested after investigation by federal authorities at the behest of the Seneca Nation accusing the native woman of being a front for Long. In 2011 he was ordered by the court to pay more than one million dollars in restitution and serve five years on probation.[95]
In 1997, New York State had attempted to enforce taxation on reservation sales of gasoline and cigarettes to non-Indians. Numerous Seneca had protested by setting fire to tires and cutting off traffic to Interstate 90 and New York State Route 17 (the future Interstate 86).[96] Then Attorney General Eliot Spitzer attempted to cut off the Seneca Tribe's internet cigarette sales by way of financial deplatforming. His office negotiated directly with credit card companies, tobacco companies, and delivery services to try to gain agreement to reject handling Seneca cigarette purchases by consumers.[97] Another attempt at collecting taxes on gasoline and cigarettes sold to non-Indians was set to begin March 1, 2006; but it was tabled by the State Department of Taxation and Finance.[98]
Shortly after March 1, 2006, other parties began proceedings to compel the State of New York to enforce its tax laws on sales to non-Indians on Indian land. Seneca County filed a suit which was dismissed.[99] The New York State Association of Convenience Stores filed a similar suit, which was also dismissed.[100] Based on the dismissal of these proceedings, Daniel Warren, a member and officer of Upstate Citizens for Equality, moved to vacate the judgment dismissing his 2002 state court action. The latter was dismissed because the court ruled that he had lack of standing.[101]
In response to Governor Eliot Spitzer's inclusion of $200 million of revenue in his budget from the cigarette tax, the Seneca announced plans to collect a toll from all who travel the length of I-90 that goes through their reservation. In 2007 the Senecas rescinded the agreement that had permitted construction of the thruway and its attendant easement through their reservation.[102] Some commentators have contended that this agreement was not necessary or moot because the United States was already granted free right-of-passage across the Seneca land in the Treaty of Canandaigua.[103]
In 2008 Governor David Paterson included $62 million of revenue in his budget from the proposed collection of these taxes. He signed a new law requiring that manufacturers and wholesalers swear under penalty of perjury that they are not selling untaxed cigarettes in New York.[104]
A law to bar any tax-exempt organization in New York from receiving tax-free cigarettes went into effect June 21, 2011. The Seneca nation has repeatedly appealed the decision, continuing to do so as of June 2011, but has not gained an overturn of this law.[105] The state has enforced the law only on cigarette brands produced by non-Indian companies (including all major national brands). It has not attempted to collect taxes on brands that are entirely tribally produced and sold (these are generally lower-end and lower-cost brands that have always made up the majority of Seneca cigarette sales.)
Casinos[edit]
As states struggled to raise revenues, in the 1980s, some state legislatures prohibited state-sponsored gambling by authorizing state lotteries and other games of chance as a means to raise funds. In some cases, funds from such operations were earmarked for education or other worthy goals. Native American tribes asserted their right to run similar activities. With the US Supreme Court decision ruling in the late 1980s that federally recognized Native American tribes could establish gaming on their sovereign reservations, the Seneca Nation began to develop its gambling industry. It began, as states and other tribes did, with bingo.
In 2002, the Seneca Nation of Indians signed a Gaming Compact with the State of New York to cooperate in the establishment of three class III gambling facilities (casinos). It established the Seneca Gaming Corporation to manage its operations. The Seneca Nation of Indians owns and operates two casinos on its territory in New York State: one in Niagara Falls called Seneca Niagara which also reopened in online format during the pandemic [106] and the other in Salamanca, called Seneca Allegany.
Construction began on a third, the Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino, in downtown Buffalo. In 2007 the Seneca opened a temporary casino on its land in Buffalo after federal approval, to satisfy its agreement with the state, and moved to a permanent building in 2013. Some citizens have opposed all Indian gambling, but especially the Buffalo location. Additional controversy has been engendered because there were questions about whether the Seneca-controlled land met other status criteria for gambling as defined in the IGRA.[80]
Some civic groups, including a "broad coalition of Buffalo's political, business, and cultural leaders", have opposed the Seneca Nation's establishment of a casino in Buffalo. They believe the operations will adversely affect the economic and social environment of the already struggling city.[80] Opponents include the Upstate Citizens for Equality and Citizens for a Better Buffalo. In 2008 they won a lawsuit challenging the legality of the proposed casino in Buffalo, because of the status of the land.[107] It was not part of their original reservations but had been transferred in a settlement with the state.
On July 8, 2008, United States District Judge William M. Skretny issued a decision holding that the Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino is not on gaming-eligible lands.[108] The National Indian Gaming Commission is reviewing proposed Seneca regulations and weighing its appeal options.[109] The Seneca were given five days to respond or to face fines and a forced shutdown. They said they refuse to comply with the commission's order and will appeal.[109]
Given the declining economic situation because of a nationwide recession, in summer 2008 the Seneca halted construction on the new casino in Buffalo. In December 2008 they laid off 210 employees from the three casinos.[110]
Broadcasting[edit]
The nation has established an official broadcasting arm, "Seneca Broadcasting", to apply for and purchase radio station licenses. The company owned one commercial FM radio station (broadcasting at 105.9 MHz) licensed off-reservation to the village of Little Valley, which the company purchased from Randy Michaels in early 2009. That station, known as WGWE, signed on February 1, 2010 from studios in the city of Salamanca with a classic hits format and was owned and operated by the nation until its sale in December 2021. An earlier application, for a noncommercial FM station at 89.3 in Irving, New York, ran into mutual exclusivity problems with out-of-town religious broadcasters.[111]
Employment[edit]
Many Seneca people are employed in the local economy of the region as professionals, including lawyers, professors, physicians, police officers, teachers, social workers, nurses, and managers .