The Canandaigua Treaty Day Celebration is held annually in Canandaigua, New York, to polish the chain of friendship between the United States and the Six Nations, and to honor the sovereignty of the Haudenosaunee (hoh-DEE-noh-SHoh-nee) Confederacy. The Six Nations consist of the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and Tuscarora, who originally and currently live in Northeast North America and Upstate New York. 

Ganondagan State Historic Site is home to the Seneca Art & Culture Center, which features stories of Haudenosaunee contributions to art, culture and society, and the Bark Longhouse, a replica of a 1600s Seneca family’s dwelling as well colonial trades and goods. Self-guided hiking trails, including a tree tour and medicine walk, are available year-round, dawn to dusk, weather-permitting. 

Co-created in 1794 by the young United States and the Haudenosaunee Confederacy (an alliance of Six Nations), the Canandaigua Treaty was a binding, solemn agreement that defined mutual obligations between the independent nations. It set out to affirm land rights to the Haudenosaunee and established the promise of friendship between all parties. Today the treaty is commemorated by the Haudenosaunee by paying tribute to their peace-making efforts to uphold their end of the “chain” of friendship.

On November 11, Ganondagan State Historic Site hosted a lunch, lecture and tour to honor the 229th anniversary of the Canandaigua Treaty at their Seneca Art & Culture Center in Victor, NY. The annual event signals how the relationship between the United States and Six Nations has been challenged, strained, and violated, but reveals that the treaty itself has never been broken and is still recognized by both governments.