Cornplanter Face Mask
History of Chief Cornplanter and Tomahawk
Early 1790s President George Washington (Hanödaga:nyas) [Town Destroyer] gave the Pipe Tomahak to Chief Cornplanter at the end of the negotiation of the Treaty of Canandaigua. The Canandaigua Treaty of 1794 is a treaty between the United States of America and the Six Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy – Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida, Mohawk and Tuscarora. It was signed in Canandaigua, New York on November 11, 1794 by sachems representing the Grand Council of the Six Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy and by Colonel Timothy Pickering who was the official agent of President George Washington. This treaty is sometimes called the “Pickering Treaty.” The Canandaigua Treaty established peace and friendship between the young United States of America and the Six Nations. The Treaty also affirmed Haudenosaunee land rights – the Canandaigua Treaty restored to the Six Nations lands in western New York State that had been ceded by the Fort Stanwix Treaty. The Canandaigua Treaty also recognized the sovereignty of the United States and set laws as an individual nation. Chief Cornplanter was present and signed the Canandaigua Treaty. Cornplanter or Gayëtwa’geh was a well respected Onödowa’ga:’ leader, eloquent speaker, and skilled diplomat.
Pipe Tomahawks emerged in the early 1700s and were commonly given to Native American Leaders by 18th-Century colonial officials. 1810 the Cornplanter Pipe Tomahawk was burned in a fire. How did the Tomahawk end up at The Onöhsagwë:de’ cultural center you ask?? Come to the Onöhsagwë:de’ cultural center to find out!
