10 Facts About Governor Blacksnake

Governor Blacksnake was prominent for his role at the Battle of Oriskany, in which the Loyalist and allied forces ambushed a force of Patriots.

Governor Blacksnake helped gain a New York State Appeals Court ruling in 1861 that restored the Oil Springs Reservation to the Seneca.

Governor Blacksnake's mother was a Seneca woman of the Wolf clan and his father was known as De-ne-oh-ah-te or "The Light".

Governor Blacksnake was raised in Canawaugus, a Seneca village known as Ga:non'wages, on the east side of the Genesee River, a site that has since been absorbed into the village of Avon, Livingston County, New York.

Governor Blacksnake likely became recognized as a war chief for actions taken as a young adult.

Governor Blacksnake permitted missionaries and Western schooling on the Reservation and encouraged his followers to work toward social harmony and to take advantage of schooling.

Governor Blacksnake fought on the American side in the War of 1812, and participated in the Battle of Fort George.

Governor Blacksnake "helped save the Oil Spring Reserve" for the Seneca.

Governor Blacksnake, who had attended the negotiations of the Treaty of Big Tree that established the reservation, testified that he and Joseph Ellicott had surveyed the Oil Spring lands and that the omission of a full legal description of the lands from the treaty was a mistake.

Governor Blacksnake produced a map copied by the Holland Land Company, in which the Oil Spring Reservation was marked similarly to other Seneca lands.