Indian Time - A Voice from the Eastern Door

Con’t from last week

Treaty of Canandaigua of 1794

The Treaty of Canandaigua is legally a part of the supreme law of the land as guaranteed by the United States Constitution. This treaty was negotiated by two independent sovereign governments, the Haudenosaunee and the United States. Each side agreed to declare boundaries specifically set forth in the treaty. Each side agreed to guarantee the free use of and enjoyment by each government of its own lands, without interference from the other. Each side agreed to that the common goal would be peace and friendship between the two parties. Appendix E is a copy of the wording contained in the Treaty of Canandaigua.

The Treaty of Canandaigua was a treaty of accommodation, born of military and political necessity on both sides. Because the Haudenosaunee at the time was too powerful a force to be subjugated by the fledgling United States government, President George Washington had the treaty drawn up in terms of equality - without the restrictions imposed on Indian nations by later treaties. The Canandaigua Treaty remains in effect today, and is still formally observed by the U.S. government.