Seneca Possessed: Indians, Witchcraft, and Power in the Early American Republic

Early American Studies

by Matthew Dennis

Seneca Possessed examines the ordeal of a Native people in the wake of the American Revolution. As part of the once-formidable Iroquois Six Nations in western New York, Senecas occupied a significant if ambivalent place within the newly established United States. They found themselves the object of missionaries' conversion efforts while also confronting land speculators, poachers, squatters, timber-cutters, and officials from state and federal governments.In response, Seneca communities sought to preserve their territories and culture amid a maelstrom of economic, social, religious, and political change. They succeeded through a remarkable course of cultural innovation and conservation, skillful calculation and luck, and the guidance of both a Native prophet and unusual Quakers. Through the prophecies of Handsome Lake and the message of Quaker missionaries, this process advanced fitfully, incorporating elements of Christianity and white society and economy, along

Genres: History, Nonfiction, American History

328 pages, Hardcover

First published January 25, 2010

Reviews

[Dan Gorman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extraordinary story of murder, warfare, legal battles for Iroquois sovereignty, and religious fanaticism on the New York frontier. Matthew Dennis is a masterful writer.

[Beth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Derivative of Wallace's "Death and Rebirth of the Seneca," which is a very problematic depiction of Iroquois Reservations in it's own right. Some good observations and contributions to the study of Iroquois History (and US History) are buried in the footnotes and underdeveloped.