Tonawanda Band of Seneca

They have maintained the traditional form of government led by sachems (hereditary Seneca chiefs) selected by clan mothers.

The latter approved a republican constitution in 1848, electing a council and executive officials to govern their lands of the Allegany, Cattaraugus and Oil Springs reservations.

In 1857, the Tonawanda Band signed a treaty with the United States and was recognized as a tribe independent of the Seneca Nation of New York.

[1] In addition, some Seneca relocated to Indian Territory in the early 19th century; their descendants now form part of the Seneca-Cayuga Nation in present-day Oklahoma.

On 15 January 1838, the United States government entered into the Treaty of Buffalo Creek, with nine Indian nations of New York, including the Seneca.

The US wanted the Seneca and other New York tribes to move there to free up desirable lands for the European-American colonists’ to take over and settle.

Under the treaty, the US acknowledged that the Ogden Land Company was going to buy the four remaining Seneca reservations in New York, the proceeds funding the nation's removal to Kansas Territory.

"The Tonawanda Band consists of eight 'clans': the Snipe, the Heron, the Hawk, the Deer, the Wolf, the Beaver, the Bear, and the Turtle.