[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 169 (Monday, November 16, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2761]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          RECOGNIZING THE PICKERING TREATY IN CANANDAIGUA, NY

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                          HON. ERIC J.J. MASSA

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, November 16, 2009

  Mr. MASSA. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the anniversary 
of the longest standing unbroken treaty between the United States 
government and a sovereign Native People. This Wednesday, the 11th of 
November, will mark the two hundred and fifteenth anniversary of the 
signing of the Pickering Treaty in Canandaigua, New York, the treaty 
which established peace between the people of the Iroquois Confederacy 
and the United States of America.
  Timothy Pickering, representing President George Washington on that 
historic day in Canandaigua, along with the leaders of the Iroquois 
Nation, signed the treaty which established peace and friendship on the 
western frontier of New York while securing lands in New York State for 
the Iroquois Confederacy. The treaty was signed into law by President 
Washington in January of 1795, following its ratification by the United 
States Senate in Philadelphia.
  As a veteran, I note the appropriateness of this anniversary falling 
on Veterans Day. It is significant that Native Americans join the U.S. 
Armed Forces at a higher per capita rate than members of any other 
group in our country and have established a record of bravery under 
fire that stands as a monument to courage and national service. The 
service of our veterans, regardless of race or ethnicity, all sacrifice 
for what this treaty has stood for over two hundred years: Peace 
between peoples, cooperation between neighbors, and friendship among 
nations.
  I stand today to remind this storied chamber that while the bonds of 
friendship that embody this treaty have been strained, they have never 
broken. It is an imperative that we, as Americans, keep and celebrate 
the promises that we make to other nations and that we always recognize 
the importance of our word. No other treaty signifies this sacred 
obligation more than the Treaty of Canandaigua.

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