History of Native American Land Rights in Upstate New York, A

by Cindy Amrhein

A complex and troubled history defines the borders of upstate New York beyond the physical boundaries of its rivers and lakes. The United States and the state were often deceptive in their territory negotiations with the Iroquois Six Nations. Amidst the growing quest for more land among settlers and then fledgling Americans, the Indian nations attempted to maintain their autonomy. Yet state land continued to encroach the Six Nations. Local historian Cindy Amrhein takes a close and critical view of these transactions. Evidence of dubious deals, bribes, faulty surveys and coerced signatures may help explain why many of the Nations now feel they were cheated out of their territory.

On its way to becoming a resource for land claims, it is now carried by 30 college/university libraries in 19 states including Columbia University, Princeton, Harvard, Oklahoma State, Texas A &M, and Yale University Law School Library.

Genres: History, Indigenous, Nonfiction

208 pages, Paperback

Published March 14, 2016

About the author

I'm the County Historian for Wyoming County, New York. I write a lot of non-fiction, local history, for work in our quarterly called Historical Wyoming. As for enjoyment reading, I prefer mysteries.

I was a weekly columnist for 2 1/2 years for a now out of print (2006) Native American newspaper called The Akwesasne Phoenix Sundays, under the pen name HistorySleuth which I've kept. As you probably can guess, my column was about Native American issues and history--mostly the Six Nations of NYS. My latest book, A History of Native American Land Rights in Upstate New York is on its way to becoming a reference for land claims. It is now carried by 27 college/university libraries in 18 states including Columbia University, Princeton, Harvard, Oklahoma State, Texas A &M, and Yale University Law School Library.

I co-authored one book called, Bread & Butter: The Murders of Polly Frisch The re-edited, revised edition, with new information, came out April 1, 2014. A local true crime set in the 1850s about a woman who murders her husband & children with arsenic, and the five trials it took to convict her.

I wrote a mystery for NaNoWriMo 2009 called The Milk Carton Murders which is basically a cozy. Done, but needs to be edited when I finish my non-fic book on Indian land title in NY State, called Right of the Soil, which I expect to self-publish since it's a local history niche topic (although a publisher is looking at it as of Feb 2014). Started a new fiction project last NaNoWriMo which is a YA adventure--sort of a "National Treasure" kind of thing. It's a work in progress, but I'm forcing myself not to touch my fiction projects til my non-fic is done!

I am a founding member of my historian's organization GAHWNY (Government Appointed Historian's of Western New York) www.gahwny.org

Reviews

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit dry but still a fascinating overview

[Rian Nejar · Rating 4 out of 5]

A detailed, rigorously researched, amply illustrated, and expertly edited historical work.

A feeling of overwhelming sadness fills the mind as one reads this work by Cindy Amrhein. Am reminded of an old Native American saying, "Man can no more own land than he can own air or water." Cindy proves, with unerring accuracy, that greed and deceit invalidated - no, decimated - this simple wisdom of indigenous peoples. They were robbed not only of their land, but also of their lives, and their way of life.

The work includes very many exquisite images of historical significance that support the author's rigorous research documented within. A book recommended to all history buffs, especially those who seek to understand the injustice inflicted upon American Indians.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

good information but not particularly readable. I appreciate the research but hard to get through.

[Carl Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

The history of European’s treatment of the Native American is abysmal and the complicated story of land rights of those who occupied what is now New York State is no different. The land of upstate New York was initially acknowledged as sovereign territory, but as Europeans encroached further and further into it, multiple sales and treaties led to extortion, manipulation, and theft “Although… [these treaties state] the reservations to be their property which the United States would never seek clan, nor disturb them, this, of course, was not the case….” (p 87)

The bright spots are few and far between indeed. There was support of fair treatment from notable leaders, like George Washington and John Quincy Adams. And there were neighbors' “outraged” by the illegal sale of native land. (p 142) That vast majority of the story, though, is one of subterfuge and deceit.

Which makes it an important story to read. Cindy Amrhein, the author, being both Wyoming County, New York historian and an independent land deed researcher was well suited for this investigation. The story requires close and careful reading to understand all the intricacies of deeds and treaties and transfers and deception—sometimes subtle, sometimes not.

There was much I liked about this book. It’s full of lengthy excerpts from letters, and primary source photographs. Extensive quotes help in deeper understanding. There are transcriptions of the treaties to refer to in the appendix. And the inclusion of stories of some of the families involved are both interesting and underline the particulars of the story of land control and land ownership. These far outweigh the criticisms I have.


(Please note: I received a copy of this book free through Goodreads Giveaways.)

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this well laid out historical view of 200+ years of New York and USA history as it relates to the Native Americans who were the first peoples there. The author does a fabulous job explaining who the major players were, she explains what exactly the Major Treaties were and if the Natives every received any of the promises whether in land, money etc.

"The United States learned it was far easier to bribe a few Indians who were willing to sign, whether or not they were chiefs; forcefully remove them from their own territory; and give them land elsewhere that had been taken from some other Indian tribe."

Before reading this book, the only knowledge I had of this history was from my own family genealogy, when a relative joined the Butlers Rangers and fought along with the Natives who supported the King of England and my descendants ended up living in Ontario at Niagara on the Lake.
So I found this book very enlightening, It was written in easy terms to understand, it was not dry or boring like some history textbooks tend to be. I found the author took a fair and impartial view of the players and she used facts from her searches to back up her points raised in the book. I would most definitely read more books by this talented author.

[Tony Parsons · Rating 5 out of 5]

History & P.S. were 2 of my many undergrads degrees.

Crammed full of information, pictures, historical facts.
& I knew Kansas was involved but I really didn’t know what happened.

I did not receive any type of compensation for reading & reviewing this book. While I receive free books from publishers & authors, I am under no obligation to write a positive review. Only an honest one.

A very awesome book cover, great font & writing style. Wow, a very well written particular Indian true fact history book. It was very easy for me to read/follow from start/finish & never a dull moment. There were no grammar/typo errors, nor any repetitive or out of line sequence sentences. Lots of exciting scenarios, with several twists/turns & a great set of unique characters to keep track of. This could also make another great U.S. Indigenous tribe (NY Iroquois 6 Nations) historical movie, college PP presentation or mini TV series (A & E, History channel). There is no doubt in my mind this is a very easy rating of 5 stars.

Thank you for the free (Goodreads; Writersspace; History Press; Autographed; Paperback book
Tony Parsons MSW (Washburn)

[Daniel J. Rowe · Rating 3 out of 5]

With reading to learn about exactly what's on the front cover of the book.