Daguerrotype of Wa-o-wa-wa-na-onk or Peter Wilson. Created in the 1850s.

Wa-o-wa-wa-na-onk or Peter Wilson (died 1871, alternate spellings are Waowawanaonk, Wau-wah-wa-na-onk, and De jih'-non-da-weh-hoh)[1] was a Cayuga physician and possible chief. His name translates roughly to "They Heard His Voice" or "The Pacificator."[1][2]

Wa-o-wa-wa-na-onk was raised on the Seneca Buffalo Reservation and was educated in Quaker schools on the reservation.[1] He graduated with a medical degree from Geneva Medical College in 1844.[3] He was one of the first Native Americans to earn a medical degree.[4] Wa-o-wa-wa-na-onk also worked as an interpreter on the Cattaraugus Reservation.[1] Some records list him as a chief, or a "Grand Sachem," but it was uncertain if he officially held the title.[1][5]

Wa-o-wa-wa-na-onk was a signatory on a fraudulent land treaty executed in 1838 and signed as a chief.[1] He worked with the Quakers to have the treaty reversed, creating another treaty in 1842.[1] On behalf of the Cayuga people in New York, he wrote a letter to the Governor of New York in 1843.[6] In 1846, Wa-o-wa-wa-na-onk spoke to the New York Historical Society about regaining Iroquois land lost through fraud.[2] Wa-o-wa-wa-na-onk petitioned the New York State Legislature in 1853 in order to address the issue of State compensation to the Cayuga's loss of land.[5] He continued to seek the case in 1861 after the state did not appropriate funds for the Cayuga.[5]

He often spoke to different groups in New York in order to obtain allies in his cause to maintain the homeland of both the Seneca and Cayuga people.[1] He also urged groups to support women's suffrage.[7]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Peter Wilson [Cayuga]". UA Little Rock. Retrieved 2020-08-26.
  2. 1 2 "Proceedings of the New York Historical Society". Proceedings of the New York Historical Society: 65–71. 1847 – via Internet Archive.
  3. ↑ "Daguerreotype of Wa-o-wa-wa-na-onk". NMAI Magazine. Retrieved 2020-08-26.
  4. ↑ "The Pulteney St. Survey". Hobart and William Smith Colleges. Fall 2019. Retrieved 2020-08-26.
  5. 1 2 3 "Cayuga Indian Nation of New York v. Pataki, 165 F. Supp. 2d 266 (N.D.N.Y 2001)". Justia Law. Retrieved 2020-08-26.
  6. ↑ Nerincx, A. (July 1926). "American and British Claims Arbitration Tribunal: Cayuga Indian Claims". American Journal of International Law. 20 (3): 574–594. doi:10.2307/2189049. ISSN 0002-9300. JSTOR 2189049. S2CID 147314187 – via JSTOR.
  7. ↑ Wagner, Sally Roesch (2011-06-28). Sisters in Spirit: Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Influence on Early American Feminists. Native Voices Books. ISBN 978-1-57067-987-2.
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