Land of the Senecas

by Arch Merrill

From back cover - The Land of the Senecas, known to the red men as Nun-da-wag-ga, was a natural paradise, and so entrancing in its qualities that the soldier and settler, once having seen it, was eager to possess it. The Senecas of today, whether upon still smaller reservations or as workers in towns and cities have become reconciled and now eagerly seek to do their part as constructive citizens. (Description by http-mart)

146 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1986

About the author

Arch Merrill was a newspaperman, working for decades for the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, first as an editor, then as a writer, and even in retirement as a columnist until 1973.
He wrote many local history books about Upstate New York, published from 1943 to 1969. He is buried in Brighton Cemetery in Rochester.

Reviews

[Meg Koch · Rating 4 out of 5]

First printing 1949. This is a respectful and insightful history of the Senecas of western New York. Emphasis is on the colonial, American Revolution and post Revolution years. A short and interesting book.

[Krun · Rating 1 out of 5]

Grandmas shelf find, 1949 racism

[Marcus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Goodreads seems to think that this book was published in 1986. Although my copy has no copyright information, the wise, experienced bookseller at Berkelouw Books dated it as "around 1950" just by examining the yellowing of the pages and the style of the binding. Sure enough, my Internet research leads me to believe it was actually published in 1949.

Anyway, the book itself is interesting, in that it's a history book written 61 years ago--history viewed through the eyes of history. It's interesting to read a voice that unapologetically calls the Senecas "Indians" and "Redskins" rather than the currently accepted "Native Americans" or "First Americans."

A lot of the facts in the book seemed sort of sketchy to me, as if the author was reporting second hand hearsay. But if you're reading, as I was, to just get a vague flavor of the stories and history of the Seneca people, it gets the job done.