1784 treaty between the United States and representatives of the Iroquois Confederacy
The first treaty between the United States and Native Americans after the Revolutionary War, it stripped the Iroquois of the Ohio territory and accelerated their political decline.
Key Facts
- Date signed
- October 22, 1784
- Location
- Fort Stanwix, present-day Rome, New York
- Leading Native signatories
- Cornplanter and Captain Aaron Hill
- Land ceded
- All Iroquois claims to the Ohio territory and Niagara strip
- Pennsylvania designation
- Known as the 'Last Purchase'
- Ratification status
- Rejected by Six Nations council at Buffalo Creek
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Following the Revolutionary War, Britain ceded its North American claims to the United States without consulting its Iroquois allies. The Treaty of Paris left Native American land rights unresolved, and returning Iroquois in the Ohio region came into violent conflict with American settlers, prompting the United States to seek a formal settlement.
On October 22, 1784, American commissioners and Iroquois representatives signed the Treaty of Fort Stanwix at Fort Stanwix in present-day Rome, New York. The Iroquois ceded all claims to the Ohio territory, a strip along the Niagara River, and lands west of Buffalo Creek. Key signatories included Cornplanter and Captain Aaron Hill, while Joseph Brant departed before signing.
The Six Nations council at Buffalo Creek refused to ratify the treaty, and Ohio Country tribes including the Shawnee and Delaware rejected it outright. A series of follow-on treaties was required to address remaining land disputes. The treaty deepened divisions within the Iroquois Confederacy, and the league never recovered its pre-war political influence.
Political Outcome
The Iroquois Confederacy ceded all claims to the Ohio territory, the Niagara River strip, and lands west of Buffalo Creek to the United States, though the Six Nations council and Ohio tribes rejected the treaty.
Iroquois Confederacy held claims over Ohio territory and surrounding lands acquired during the Beaver Wars
United States acquired Iroquois-claimed Ohio territory; Iroquois political influence permanently diminished