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LETTERS
M.D. Morris'
finely crafted history of the Erie Canal, written to bring well
deserved attention to Engineers' Week, is an excellent summary of one
perspective of New York history.
Another
perspective is missing, a perspective directly tied to one of Morris'
themes: "the Erie Canal is not so much an engineering wonder as
it is a sociopolitical event." The sociopolitical context of the
building of the canal was disastrous for the Haudenosaunee (the
People of the Longhouse, the Iroquois Confederacy).
New Yorkers'
concerns with Haudenosaunee land claims are tied to the consequences
of the Erie Canal. The canal was built on lands that present-day
courts have ruled were illegally obtained by the state of New York.
Today's courts have focused on Haudenosaunee lands taken after 1794,
the years directly linked to a fact noted by Morris: "as early
as 1792, the Western Inland Lock Navigation Company was incorporated
to develop a canal from the Hudson River to Lake Ontario."
This was not the
first time Haudenosaunee lands had been taken by illegal treaties. In
the 1780s and early 1790s, New York used fraudulent treaties with the
Haudenosaunee to obtain lands that the state used to pay veterans of
the American Revolution. Having paid for liberty with Haudenosaunee
lands, the elite who controlled state politics began implementing
their plans for a canal, including the taking of more Haudenosaunee
lands. Even after the Erie Canal was officially opened in 1825, the
state and its citizens were determined to control all of the benefits
of the canal to the exclusion of the original inhabitants -- even
though warriors from all nations of the confederacy on this side of
the Canadian border fought on the side of the United States during
the War of 1812. Simeon DeWitt, DeWitt Clinton, and the other famous
men Morris describes -- as well as many Morris does not name -- were
involved in, and profited from, the state's anti-Indian policies. The
illegal taking of Haudenosaunee lands is the foundation of our
"Empire State."
Robert W. Venables
Ithaca
Originally
published Thursday, February 27, 2003
Source: The
Ithaca
Journal
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