Seneca Indians

The Seneca Indian people living in Ohio during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries were related to the Seneca Indian tribe of New York. The Seneca in New York were one of the most powerful members of the Iroquois confederacy. The Ohio Seneca Indians spoke the Iroquois language. Many of these Senecas left New York, hoping to find a better life in the Ohio Country. Upon arriving in Ohio, these natives had limited contact with their original tribe in New York. They formed their own political system that was completely separate from the Senecas in New York. The Ohio Senecas also joined with the Algonquian Indian tribes of the Ohio Country in their wars with the Iroquois. The Ohio Senecas probably included more than just Senecas from New York. The Ohio Seneca tribe also probably included Mingo Indians, Erie Indians, Conestoga Indians, and the remnants of several other tribes.

The Ohio Senecas came to live along the Sandusky River after the American Revolution. They relinquished most of their lands in Ohio with the signing of the Treaty of Greeneville. In 1831, the Senecas forsook their remaining lands in Ohio under the terms of the Treaty of Lewistown (Ohio).