Cornplanter, Seneca Diplomat

Cornplanter was born in the middle of the eighteenth century, sources differ on the year, the son of a Dutch trader and a Seneca woman, and he spent his life navigating the collision between two worlds. During the American Revolution he fought for the British alongside other Iroquois Confederacy nations. When the war ended and the British abandoned their Native allies, Cornplanter shifted course. He became one of the most skilled diplomatic negotiators of the early republic, working to protect Seneca lands and culture through negotiation rather than continued conflict.

In seventeen ninety-six the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania granted Cornplanter and his heirs three tracts of land, including territory near present-day Oil City, in recognition of his role in keeping peace along the frontier. But as the years passed he grew increasingly disillusioned, watching the United States disregard treaty obligations to Native nations again and again. He died in eighteen thirty-six.