The Broken Treaty of Canandaigua (1794)
By M.A. — Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
The ink had barely dried before silence returned to the longhouses of the Haudenosaunee. Not the silence of peace, but the quiet of a promise unkept — a white wampum belt gathering dust in an empty room.
The Treaty of Canandaigua, signed in 1794 between the United States and the Six Nations of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, was meant to ensure perpetual peace and friendship. It acknowledged Haudenosaunee sovereignty and promised annual compensation, marking one of the rare moments when the U.S. government formally recognized Native land rights.
George Washington’s emissary, Timothy Pickering, assured the Iroquois nations that their lands would be protected, and in return, the Haudenosaunee agreed to cease hostilities. The treaty recognized the territorial integrity of the Six Nations and promised an annuity of $4,500, a symbolic gesture meant to anchor trust in the fragile relationship between a young republic and an ancient confederacy.
But time frayed the threads of that promise. Settler expansion crept westward. Federal and state policies ignored treaty boundaries. The Haudenosaunee, despite their diplomatic legacy and clear memory of the agreement, were slowly pushed into legal and political margins.
Today, the Treaty of Canandaigua is still commemorated annually by Haudenosaunee nations. The ceremony, held in Geneva, New York, is not only a remembrance but a quiet act of resistance, a reminder that treaties are not just historical relics but living agreements. The U.S. government continues to deliver the promised annuity, though the deeper terms of respect and autonomy remain contested.
This treaty was not a surrender. It was a negotiation between sovereign nations. And its fracture was not inevitable. It was the product of disregard, of silence where dialogue once stood. In Haudenosaunee thought, diplomacy is a sacred path, a longhouse where all voices can be heard. The collapse of the Canandaigua promise did not begin with war. It began with the refusal to listen.
Sources
- Hauptman, Laurence M. Conspiracy of Interests: Iroquois Dispossession and the Rise of New York State. Syracuse University Press, 1999.
- Grinde, Donald A., and Bruce E. Johansen. Exemplar of Liberty: Native America and the Evolution of Democracy. UCLA American Indian Studies Center, 1991.
- Williams, Robert A. Jr. Like a Loaded Weapon: The Rehnquist Court, Indian Rights, and the Legal History of Racism in America. University of Minnesota Press, 2005.
- U.S. National Archives, “Treaty with the Six Nations, 1794 (Canandaigua Treaty).”