The
About the Seneca People:
How do you pronounce the word "Seneca"? What does it mean? Seneca is pronounced "SEH-nehkah." It comes from the name of one of their villages, Osininka. In their own language, the Senecas call themselves Onandowaga, which means "people of the mountain." Where do the Seneca Indians live? The Senecas originally lived in New York state. Many Seneca people still live in New York today, but others were forced to migrate to Oklahoma or Canada. What language do the Senecas speak? Most Seneca people speak English today, but some elders also speak their native Seneca language. Seneca is a complex language with many sounds that are unlike the sounds in English. If you'd like to know a few easy Seneca words, "sgëno'" (pronounced similar to sgay-noh) is a friendly greeting, and "niyawë" (pronounced similar to nee-yah-wenh) means 'thank you.' Today Seneca is an endangered language because most children aren't learning it anymore. However, some Seneca Indian people are working to keep their language alive.
November is Native American Heritage Month, or as it is commonly referred to, American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month.
Chief Cornplanter John Abeel (ca. 1732–February 18, 1836), known
as Gaiänt'wakê (Gyantwachia - ″ the planter″ ) or Kaiiontwa'kon (Kaintwakon - "By What One Plants")
in the Seneca language and thus generally known as Cornplanter, was a Seneca war chief and diplomat. As a chief warrior, Cornplanter fought in the French and Indian War and the American Revolutionary War. In both wars, the Seneca and three other Iroquois nations were allied with the British. After the war Cornplanter led negotiations with the United States and was a signatory of the Treaty of Fort Stanwix (1784). He helped gain Iroquois neutrality during the Northwest Indian War.