The Seneca-Cayuga Tribe of Oklahoma is a federally-recognized tribe of people whose descendants
originated from what is now known as the Finger Lakes region of New York, between the Genesee
River and Canandaigua Lake. Both the Seneca and Cayuga were members of the Iroquois confederation known as Six Nations, which consisted also of Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga and Tuscarora.
Members of the confederation began a westward migration to escape encroachment by colonists. After
the American Revolution, confederation members who stayed behind to fight with the British were
forced to cede their lands. Some relocated to Canada, while others settled on reservation land in New
York. Still others ventured to Ohio where they were granted refuge along the Sandusky and upper
Ohio Rivers. They were later joined by the Shawnee and other members of the confederacy. In 1831,
they sold their land in Ohio and accepted a reservation in Indian Territory. They were a prosperous
people who loaded their many possessions (clothing, household goods, tools, seed) onto a steamboat bound for St. Louis. The trip to their new
home took eight months and was marked by delays, blizzards, disease, and death. Upon their arrival in Indian Territory, they found their lands
either overlapped those of the Cherokee or were wholly within the boundaries of the Cherokee Nation. During the Civil War, Indian Territory
became a battleground and many fled to Kansas for safety. In 1867, federal negotiators sold part of their lands to various tribes and arranged
for the separation of the Shawnee (who then became the Eastern Shawnee).
In 1881, a band of Cayuga from Canada joined the Seneca Tribe in Indian Territory. In 1902, shortly before Oklahoma became a state, 372
members of the joint tribe received land allotments.
Today, the tribal roll numbers over 5,000 members, many of whom live throughout Ottawa and Delaware Counties in northeast Oklahoma.
Tribal headquarters are located northeast of Grove on State Highway 10.
The Seneca-Cayuga tribe is governed by a seven member business committee, consisting of a chief, second-chief, secretary-treasurer, and four
councilpersons. The business committee meets on a monthly basis and conducts business on behalf of the general council which consists of all
tribal members age 18 and older. The general council meets once yearly on the first Saturday in June, unless a special general council meeting is
called at another time during the year. The tribe’s Green Corn Festival is held yearly in August.
The tribe currently owns and operates the Seneca-Cayuga Tobacco Company, Grand Lake Casino, and Grand Lake Casino Lodge (formerly
known as Cowskin Prairie Motel). The Seneca-Cayuga also own a herd of about 100 buffalo. The original herd consisted of 13 head, but has
grown over the years to one of the larger herds in the region. Proceeds from tribal enterprises are used to fund social programs, elder programs
and educational scholarship programs for tribal members.