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What’s Next?

The Haudenosaunee and the Erie Canal: A Hidden History

Published November 24, 2025 at 11:00 AM EST
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Background from left to right: red, then a vertical, thick white stripe in the middle, then black. from left to right: WN logo in the top corner, "THE HAUDENOSAUNEE AND THE ERIE CANAL:" in white text and "#308" in black text over the red and "A HIDDEN HISTORY" in white text over the black.

On this episode of What’s Next? we speak with Terry Abrams, curator at the Niagara History Center, about the often-overlooked consequences of the Erie Canal on the Haudenosaunee people. Abrams traces the history of dispossession that accompanied the canal’s construction, beginning with the Treaty of Canandaigua in 1794, which affirmed Seneca territory, and the Treaty of Big Tree in 1797, which drastically reduced it. He also examines the environmental impact of the canal, including the spread of invasive species, and the cultural and economic adjustments Native communities were forced to make as the region transformed. Through his exhibit and public talks, Abrams invites audiences to reconsider a familiar chapter in American history and confront the deeper, more complex legacy of the Erie Canal.

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