This American Indian Heritage Month, the Fort Pitt Museum – part of the Smithsonian-affiliated Senator John Heinz History Center’s family of museums – will host a special one-day conference, “From Seneca to Seneca-Cayuga: Iroquoian Peoples of the Ohio Country,” Saturday, Nov. 19, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m
As part of the conference, speakers from federally recognized tribes will explore the past, present, and future of Iroquoian peoples who found a second homeland in the Ohio Country, a region that encompassed Pittsburgh and Western Pa.
The Upper Ohio Valley was a melting pot for American Indians of many regions in the mid-18th century. For decades, some western Senecas, part of the Haudenosaunee (or Iroquois) Confederacy, had drifted down the Ohi:yo’ River, moving further from their fellow nations. Other Iroquoian peoples, including Cayugas, Conestogas, and Mohawks, joined them, seeking autonomy from the larger Confederacy and distance from colonial settlements. Here they were frequently referred to as Mingo, an Algonquin term for Iroquoian speakers.
The conference will discuss how these Iroquoian peoples survived a long and difficult period of removal and continue to preserve their languages, history, and traditions to this day.
It will also feature a session about the Seneca chief Guyasuta, who worked closely with the larger Confederacy and the Mingo of the Ohio Country in the 18th century. The museum’s new exhibition, Guyasuta: The Life and Legend of a Seneca Chief, will be open for participants to explore.
In addition to the scheduled presentations, a panel discussion with tribal members will address issues of present-day concern to American Indian communities, such as land acknowledgement and cultural preservation.
Tickets are $30 for general admission and $20 for members, which include museum admission. Please register in advance.
The Fort Pitt Museum, built in a recreated bastion of the British fort originally constructed in 1759, focuses on the critical role that Western Pennsylvania played during the French & Indian War, the American Revolution, and the founding of Pittsburgh. The Fort Pitt Museum is located in Point State Park in downtown Pittsburgh. The Senator John Heinz History Center, an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, operates the Fort Pitt Museum in partnership with the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC). For more information, please visit heinzhistorycenter.org/fort-pitt.