Cornplanter Chronicles

by Harold Thomas Beck

Cornplanter Chronicles is a story unlike any other story about a Native American nation and its war chief. The Seneca, a member of the Iroquois League of Six Nations, is the only tribe to survive intact to this day on their ancestral land. They are the only tribe in the United States that was never defeated by American armies and forced to accept the white man's terms. They fought on the losing side several times (The French against the British in the French and Indian War, and the British against the United States in the Revolutionary War), but in each case the war was lost elsewhere and they fought on. When it finally came in 1791, it was Cornplanter, head chief of the Seneca, who negotiated the terms and brought peace to the Alleghenies. Cornplanter (Ganiodieu 1733-1832) was a Seneca war chief from the time he was eighteen years old. He guided his people through three wars between the white men including the War of 1812 when the Seneca were finally allied with the United States against the British. The Seneca were the true Romans in North America and Cornplanter was their Julius Caesar. The book tells the story of Chief Cornplanter the man. The fictional account of the actions of this real life chief gives an exciting insight into the birth of the United States of America. The facts identify Cornplanter as the man who named George Washington "great white father", a name that has historically been used by Native Americans for the President. It identifies the two men as contemporaries and gives three separate instances when Washington actually came under the knife of the great chief. Along with telling the story of many battles, this book illustrates the tremendous weight of leadership the chief carried. Born of a white father and a Seneca mother, he played the same role for his people as Washington did for the new nation. Both men guided their people through a troubled and changing time. This is a work of fiction based on facts from our history and the life of a truly great man who until now has been ignored and forgotten.

337 pages, Paperback

First published June 14, 2001

Reviews

[Jeff Bobin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent story of the Seneca Chief Cornplanter weaving his story into the history of the U.S. through almost a century. Very interesting discussion of the lack of historical writing about him and his lack of popularity with the Seneca tribe.

The thing that sets him apart is the decisions he made when to go to war, when to avoid war and making decisions that would effect his tribe in the long run. Set mostly in Western PA and especially along the Allegheny River there is a lot of historical detail about time and place.

[Patricia Woodruff · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was fascinatingly told. There was only one bit that really stood out as unnatural and that didn’t fit. (Where Cornplanter was tricked by an evil medicine man.) Otherwise, it was respectfully and beautiful told and you can feel that you understood the man and his motivations.