Laurence M. Hauptman. Coming Full Circle

Laurence M. Hauptman’s Coming Full Circle: The Seneca Nation of Indians, 1848–1934 covers the historical events leading to what Hauptman calls the Seneca Revolution of 1848 and up to the era of the New Deal. Hauptman has written extensively about the history of the Seneca, and this book fills in a chronological hole in his scholarship. In addition, the Seneca Nation of Indians contracted with the author to write their political history. This book uses some of that research as well as other sources, including documentation and interviews. According to Hauptman, after years of instability, including private, federal, and state attempts to seize Seneca territory in today’s western New York State and northwestern Pennsylvania, the political entity of the Seneca Nation of Indians was formed in December 1848. This revolution ousted the council of chiefs and created an elected constitutional government. The Seneca Nation of Indians comprises the Seneca from the three reservations: Cattaraugus, Oil Spring, and Allegany. Much like the United States government, the Seneca Nation of Indians politically includes a version of an elected executive and legislative branch; however, the Seneca Nation of Indians elects their judiciary branch. The executive branch, consisting of a president, treasurer, and clerk, alternates between the Allegany and Cattaraugus reservations. Hauptman argues that the external and internal chaos of this period forced the Seneca Nation of Indians to pragmatically choose this form of government. The early chapters discuss the events leading up to the creation of this government, attempts to return to a tribal council, and efforts of the elected government to survive. Middle chapters address societal changes and continuity; health care, especially for children; and education challenges faced by the Seneca during this period. Later chapters examine land challenges, especially during the era of allotment, and ends with the New Deal. Hauptman suggests that this era of upheaval strengthened the Seneca political leadership to help them with future trials. This book is clear, concise, and well written. It includes maps, tables, and photographs, which add to the clarity of the text. The book clarifies, among other things, the different Seneca political entities, societal and religious changes and continuity, and their efforts to regain lost territories. It would be useful for undergraduate and graduate students of Seneca, Iroquoian, and New York State history and Indigenous studies, as well as anyone interested in Seneca history. While scholarly, this book does not get bogged down in its arguments. Instead, it focuses on the story of the Seneca people during this period. It also discusses the role of Seneca teachers, in addition to addressing students’ issues. Based on my own studies, I was especially interested in the two chapters on the educational choices made by Seneca parents. Chapter 6 discusses education for Seneca children in both public and private—often religious, especially Quaker—schools, while the following chapter examines those children who were sent away to boarding school. For the latter, Hauptman focuses on the students who went to the Hampton Institute from 1884 to 1923. A lesser-known eastern boarding school, usually associated with African American students, many Native American students also attended this institution. Indeed, Hampton was the first boarding school Native Americans—seventeen former prisoners of war from the American West were sent to by Richard Henry Pratt, the founder of the Carlisle Indian Industrial School. Given the recent discoveries of unmarked graves of students at largely Catholic-run residential schools in Canada and current US Secretary of the Interior, Deb Haaland’s, focus on Native issues, including residential boarding schools, these two chapters will be of value to those interested in these topics. I was hard-pressed to find anything to critique. I was curious as to why the Mohawk’s Tyendinaga Reservation, located on the northeastern shore of Lake Ontario, was left off map 1 on page xxiv, labeled “Eastern Iroquoia Today.” Also, the book indicates that Allegany State Park is the largest in New York State, which is incorrect. The Allegany State Park is 65,000 acres (64,800 at inception), while the Adirondack State Park is over 6 million acres (3.1 million acres at its inception in 1892). But neither of these observations have anything to do with the history of the Seneca nation or the quality of the usefulness of this book. Hauptman is today’s scholarly expert on Seneca history, and this book is a welcome addition to his previous works.

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