George Washington  Supported Native Treaties ©by Doug George-Kanentiio

George Washington is rolling in his grave.
The “father of his country” may not have been the greatest fan of Native people but he was wise enough to know they played a key role in the survival of the infant United States

Washington was one of the wealthiest men in the colonies prior to the Revolution having married into the rich Custis family.  He enjoyed his estate at Mt. Vernon and the profits generated by his 300 slaves but the future president was most fascinated by military affairs.  

While a young man he was an officer in the colonial militia, then viewed with disdain by the British army regulars.  He had come close to death a few times yet managed to extract himself from danger at just the right moment.

As part of the ill-fated British attack against Ft. Duquesne (now Pittsburgh, PA) in 1755 he saw the British commander Braddock march straight into an ambush set up by the Senecas and French resulting in a humiliating defeat of His Majesty’s forces.

Washington extracted invaluable experiences from this disaster which he would later apply in devising tactics to counter the better equipped English army during the Revolution, a struggle he knew hinged on securing Native support for the rebels.

It was said Washington was a relatively poor field general but he was politically astute, brutally strict with his troops while able to command the unswerving loyalty of his fellow officers.

Plus, he kept his word when it came to dealing with Natives. It was believed by the British that Washington would not fight a pitched battle, a fighting style he acknowledged favored the English, but he was willing to abandon the cities which enhanced his mobility and enabled him to strike British garrisons on his own terms before fading into the country.

The British accused him of ‘fighting like an Indian’. Washington’s style bled British resources and undermined their resolve to wage a prolonged war far from home.

After securing victory, Washington accepted the presidency with some hesitation.   He was a supporter of the new constitution which had replaced the unworkable Articles of Confederation; he also realized if the United States were to take its proper role among the world’s nations it had to havecredibility and honor.

Accordingly, he approved of Article 6 of the Constitution which stated quite plainly the international agreements, or treaties, entered into by the US would be the “supreme law of the land” binding Congress, the judiciary and all states to a treaty’s provisions.

Treaties to men such as Washington defined a nation and were not to be casually dismissed, ranking in importance with the Constitution itself.  He also agreed with Article 1, Section 8 allowing Congress the authority to define trade and commerce with Native nations, and Article 1, Section 8
regarding the tax exemption status of Indians.

Both provisions clearly acknowledged the special status of Native nations, who were not counted as Americans.

At the Revolution’s conclusion Washington was faced with a dangerous war in the Midwest involving native people opposed to the expansion of European settlement.  He needed to secure the neutrality of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy so at the request of the Iroquois he signed into law the 1790 Trade and Intercourse Act which prohibited states from expropriating Native lands without Congressional approval.

Washington also agreed to terms with the Haudenosaunee by affixing his signature to the 1794 Treaty of Canandaigua which bound the US for all time to respect the independent status of the Iroquois by promising never to interfere with the Haudenosaunee’s right to live on their ancestral lands “undisturbed”.

Surely, he would be shocked to hear American citizens in 1999 organizing to undermine the Constitution by abrogating Native treaties, or violating federal law by taking away what little land Indians have left.

George Washington had the integrity to keep his word and abide by the law, two elements sadly missing in the heated debate over Iroquois land claims.

                                                 March 19/99


Doug George-Kanentiio resides on Oneida Territory with his wife Joanne Shenandoah.

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Last modified May 8, 2000