History Resources

Receipt for land purchased from the Six Nations, 1769

Receipt for land purchased from Six Nations by Pennsylvania, 1769. (GLC02548)This document records that the representatives of the Six Nations, who signed using totems to designate individuals and tribes, received $10,000 as payment from the Penns for land the tribes had ceded in the Treaty of Fort Stanwix in 1768:

Received from the honorable Thomas and Richard Penn Esqrs. true and absolute Proprietaries of Pennsylvania by the hands of the honorable Sir William Johnson Baronet the sum of ten thousand Dollars being the full consideration of the Lands lately sold to them by the Indians of the six Nations at the late Treaty of Fort Stanwix We say received this Twenty Eighth day of July—Anno Domini 1769—for ourselves and the other Indians of the six Nations and their confederates and dependant Tribes for whom we act and by whom we are appointed and empowered—

The British authorities hoped to prevent further conflicts between White settlers and American Indians by forbidding the continued migration of White settlers and paying for lands they had already occupied. After giving up their land, the Six Nations dispersed, with some staying in western New York and others traveling north to Canada and west to Wisconsin. This dispossession of the Native American peoples was an integral part of the story of European colonization of the Americas, beginning with the first Spanish incursion in the late fifteenth century.

A full transcript is available.

Transcript

Received from the honorable Thomas and Richard Penn Esqrs. true and absolute Proprietaries of Pennsylvania by the hands of the honorable Sir William Johnson Baronet the sum of ten thousand Dollars being the full consideration of the Lands lately sold to them by the Indians of the six Nations at the late Treaty of Fort Stanwix We say received this Twenty Eighth day of July—Anno Domini 1769—for ourselves and the other Indians of the six Nations and their confederates and dependant Tribes for whom we act and by whom we are appointed and empowered—

Wittness Present Nord. MacLeod    
Henry Frey Justice Pat: Daly [holograph
totem]		 Abraham, for the Mohawks
Jacob K. Cook Justice      
[holograph
totem]		 Anahgogare [holograph
totem]		 Johannes Tekaridoge
[holograph
totem]		 Onoghranoron [holograph
totem]		 Jonathan Kayeagwiregowa
[holograph
totem]		 Onughshiny [holograph
totem]		 Joseph Thayeadanege
[holograph
totem]		 For the Cajuga Nation
by the desire of the whole–		 [holograph
totem]		 James Sussarowane—

Lodowicke Aughsawata
[holograph
totem]		 Anaquadecka [holograph
totem]		 Joseph Tagahwaron—
[holograph
totem]		 Serrehoana [holograph
totem]		  
[holograph
totem]		 Sayuni [holograph
totem]		  

A Receipt from the
Six Nations for
₤[1]000 Currcy or
10’000 Dollars.—

Questions for Discussion

Read the introduction and the transcript and view the image. Then apply your knowledge of American history to answer the questions that follow.

Note: It may useful to use an online or print atlas to locate Fort Stanwix. Additionally, prior to the assignment of the questions, a small research assignment might be given to identify by name the nations represented in the agreement.

  1. Why did the British authorities, and the Penns of Pennsylvania, in particular, agree to pay representatives of the Six Nations $10,000?
  2. How did the Treaty of Fort Stanwix change the population of the territories that were purchased?
  3. Describe the long-term effect upon the Native American tribes that had previously lived in the area sold to the British.
  4. How did the Native Americans indicate their agreement with the terms of land deal?
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