Overview

In 1892 the U.S. Census Printing Office published a report on the Six Nations in New York State which collected evidence still used today by the Six Nations to defend their legal rights. The 1892 census purported to be an objective report on the condition of the Iroquois. General Henry B. Carrington, special agent, U.S. Army (retired), was ""to spend months among the Indians making careful observations respecting their various political, religious, and social meetings, their homes, health, and habits."" The study, carried out at the time of the battle at Wounded Knee, was the first step in the government's plan to eliminate reservations: once land was privately held by individual Native Americans, it could be taxed. The census presented ample evidence of the Iroquois success in balancing their heritage with contemporary challenges and opportunities. The agents misconstrued their subjects' willingness to assimilate but also recognized that legally the Indians could become U.S. citizens only by renouncing their tribes. The report tried to assess-from statistics and individual accounts of traditional religious beliefs, practices, and ceremonies; of social practices and moral values; of health, property, and education-whether the Iroquois could be assimilated. In the process, it accumulated data, fascinating details, and photographs that bring history alive a century later.

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9780801483172

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Reviews

Originally published in 1892 by the U.S. Census Office, 'The Six Nations of New York' is a detailed sociopolitical study of the six nations of the Iroquois Confederacy. . . .Venables's introduction details political issues and views of the Iroquois in the late nineteenth century. . . . 'The Six Nations' outlines legal issues of the time and provides statistical information on births, deaths, longevity, religious preferences, education, occupation, and material holdings of the Iroquois people. Anita Cheek Moon, Member Reviewers' Consortium Carrollton, Georgia, Primitive Pursuits, April 7, 1997

Originally published in 1892 by the U.S. Census Office, 'The Six Nations of New York' is a detailed sociopolitical study of the six nations of the Iroquois Confederacy. . . .Venables's introduction details political issues and views of the Iroquois in the late nineteenth century. . . . 'The Six Nations' outlines legal issues of the time and provides statistical information on births, deaths, longevity, religious preferences, education, occupation, and material holdings of the Iroquois people. -Anita Cheek Moon, Member Reviewers' Consortium Carrollton, Georgia, Primitive Pursuits, April 7, 1997

Author Information

Robert W. Venables is Senior Lecturer in the American Indian Program at Cornell University.

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