He was both an Indian and a white man. A Seneca Chief and a Union Colonel. The first Native American to be Commissioner of Indian Affairs. This is Ely Parker.
Jeffrey R Gudzune, M.A.
On April 9, 1865, General Robert E Lee, General-in-Chief of the Confederate Army, surrendered his forces to General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House; effectively ending the War Between the States. As the embattled southern warrior clasped hands with his northern contemporaries, he was immediately drawn to a dark skinned man with distinguished features. The casual conversation and reminiscences of days gone by fell silent as Lee walked over to address this individual. The man that had drawn the general’s attention was Lt. Colonel Ely S. Parker, a Seneca Chief and Military Secretary to General Grant. Parker was also the highest ranked Native American in the Union Army. Popular belief has it that Lee extended his hand and said to Parker, “ I’m glad to see that there is at least one real American here.” Parker shook the old soldier’s hand and is thought to have responded, “We are all Americans.” While there is some speculation as to whether or not this exchange of polite banter occurred, there is no doubt as to Colonel Parker’s presence at this historic meeting. Not only did he serve with distinction during the war, but, as Grant’s adjutant, he was responsible for transcribing the terms of surrender that Lee would sign. His remarkable career after the war would greatly benefit Native Americans and further secure their place within the nation that for so long had stifled their independence.
Although the exact date is uncertain, Ely Parker was born in 1828 on the Tonawanda Reservation near Buffalo, New York. Even before his birth, his mother, Ga-ont-gwut-twus, or Elizabeth, (herself the descendant of great Seneca leaders such as Red Jacket and Handsome Lake) felt that he would accomplish great things in his life. According to Seneca tradition, a dream interpreter told Elizabeth that her son would be “distinguished among his nation as a peacemaker,” and that he would be “a warrior for the pale faces…but will never lay down his horns as a great Iroquois chief.” This was enough to convince Elizabeth that such a child should be given a proper name. When Ely was born, he was given the Seneca name Ha-sa-no-an-da—which means “Leading Name.” His early life was divided between learning the ways of the Seneca and learning the ways of the white man.
As one of the six nations of the Iroquois Confederacy, the Seneca participated in a tradition of sending the flower of their youth to learn at schools in the United States. Young Ha-sa-no-an-da Parker excelled in his early schooling, but refused to learn English. He did choose the Anglicized Ely as a first name for himself through his interactions with the Reverend Ely Stone. Ely Parker soon realized that in order to function properly in both worlds, a mastery of the English language would be necessary. In 1842, Ely entered Yates Academy, in New York. Being the only Native American student in a class of 119 greatly accelerated his study of the language of the whites. He soon gained attention for his writing abilities and became a member of several literary groups. While he was gaining notoriety among his classmates for his academic skills, Ely was also closely followed by the leaders of the Seneca nation—many of whom had no command of English. During his education at Yates, Ely was called on to serve as translator for the Seneca delegations on their diplomatic mission to Albany. Ely Parker was now in the ascendancy.
This was not a happy time for the Seneca at Tonawandas. After fighting a diplomatic delaying action for two years they were about to lose their reservation as a result of a treaty that they had had no part in. In 1842, the Seneca at the Cattaraugus and Allegany reservations agreed to cede the Tonawanda and Buffalo Creek reservation to the Ogden Land Company. The Tonawandas viewed this as an illegal action, as Seneca law required unanimity on all questions of land disposition. The government of the state of New York and the United States refused to hear their arguments. In the meantime, Ely graduated from Yates and entered the Cayuga Academy in Aurora, New York in 1845. Parker honed his debating skills while at Cayuga and gained allies in the Grand Order of the Iroquois—a society made up of whites that was somewhat sympathetic to the cause of the Native Americans in New York. After meeting Ely, they agreed to support the Tonawandas in their efforts to repudiate the treaty and maintain control over their land. They even went so far as to assist the delegation in setting up a meeting with President James Polk in Washington, D.C.
Ely accompanied this delegation as a translator, but also spoke personally to the President regarding the issue. Polk assured the delegation that the Senate would look into the treaty and that the best course of action would be for the Seneca to be patient. While the United States Senate debated the fate of the Tonawanda Seneca, Ely split his time between meeting with government leaders and serving as a roaming ambassador for his people. He received media attention after attending a meeting of the Grand Order of the Iroquois in August of 1846, when a local newspaper ran a brief story on his efforts to protect his reservation. Not only did this bring the struggle of the Tonawanda to the public eye, it also reasserted his importance within the Seneca hierarchy. The chiefs of the Seneca nation realized that Ely Parker would be a valuable asset in their efforts in Washington.
At the request of the council of chiefs, Parker returned to Washington D.C. in January of 1847, just as the Congress was about to return from its recess. At a public reception held at the White House, Parker once more met with President Polk and received his assurance that the matter would be given the utmost attention. While waiting for Congress to officially reconvene, Parker visited the home of Dolly Madison, was received by members of Congress, and was even invited to dine with the Mayor of Washington D.C., William Seaton. At every opportunity, Parker put the affairs of the Seneca as his top priority. At the dinner parties to which he was invited, at official gatherings, and even in private conversations with Mrs. Madison and First Lady Sarah Polk. Despite his exhausting effort, the Senate voted down the Seneca proposal and ordered the removal of the Tonawandas from their land. Though his diplomatic mission seemed to end in utter failure, the Tonawanda reservation managed to hold onto their land nonetheless. When an employee of the Ogden Land Company assaulted a resident Seneca, the tribe sought legal damages and won. The New York court declared that the Ogden employee had not established legal title to the reservation and that they in fact had no claim regardless of the treaty. The Tonawanda reservation was safe...for the moment.
The delay in the takeover of the reservation afforded Ely Parker the opportunity to return to his studies—which proved to be an even more daunting task than his diplomatic efforts. After Harvard refused his admission, Parker thought he might be able to earn a position in the Office of Indian Affairs. This was where his ties to the corridors of power in Washington began to bear fruit. A young lawyer named William P. Angel, who was also a sub-agent for the Indians living in New York, offered Parker the chance to work with him and at the same time study law with him. Ely Parker was now an Indian agent and a law student. Realizing that a thorough knowledge of the law would make him an even better advocate for the Tonawanda Seneca, Parker embraced his studies and his duties as an agent. While dedicated to his studies and his work, Ely found time to gain new friendships and even became a member of the Masonic Lodge. In what free time he did have, he assisted white scholars in gaining a better understanding of his people. For a writer named Alfred B. Street, a member of the Grand Order of the Iroquois, Parker assisted with the spelling and pronunciation of Iroquois names for his poetry. He collaborated with Lewis Henry Morgan in the publication of The League of the Ho-de-no-sau-nee, or Iroquois. For other writers who were working on books about the Iroquois, or who just happened to be curious, Parker served as historian and cultural attaché. Yet, his true cause was always at the forefront of his thought process.
In December of 1848, Angel was removed from his position in the Office of Indian Affairs as a result of a political shakeup within the office. Ely was now out of work and under federal law he could not be admitted to the New York bar; Indians were not American citizens and there existed no provisions to provide for their naturalization. Once more his friend Lewis Henry Morgan was there to assist him. Morgan found work for Parker with a survey team working on an extension of the Genesee Valley Canal. In 1849 Ely Parker began studying engineering among the surveyors at the canal site. Moving to Rochester, New York in 1850, Ely continued his engineering studies until the Tonawanda Seneca called on him once more.
Already accustomed to living among the whites, Ely wasted no time in settling into his new quarters in Rochester. He continued to assist Morgan in the compilation of his book on the Iroquois and gathered Indian artifacts for the state museum in Albany. Though Morgan did most of the transcribing, League of the Ho-de-no-sau-nee, or Iroquois, was a concerted effort by the entire Parker family. Many of the artifacts displayed in the book were from the Parker family collection and Ely’s brother and sister appeared in the book wearing traditional Seneca dress. When the book was finally published in 1851, Morgan dedicated the work to his friend, Ely S. Parker. Parker gave a copy of the book to Secretary of State Daniel Webster, who had originally refused to support the Seneca delegation in its efforts to overturn the treaty that endangered their land.
It was in the midst of his study of engineering in Rochester that Ely was once more called back to Tonawanda. After the death of John Blacksmith, one of the Grand Sachems of the Seneca Nation, Ely was called to a special council of the entire Iroquois Confederacy at Tonawanda. On September 19, 1851, Ely Parker was elected Grand Sachem of the Seneca—a chief of the Six Nations. At this council, Ely was also given a new Indian name. As a result of his new title and status within the Iroquois Confederacy, Ely Parker was renamed Do-ne-ho-ga-wa, meaning “Open Door.” Once more, Parker was in the ascendancy. At the age of twenty-three, Do-ne-ho-ga-wa bore the title of Keeper of the Western Door, Grand Sachem of the Six Nations of Indians in New York and Canada.
While it should be pointed out that there were 49 other Grand Sachems within the Iroquois Confederacy, Ely was widely acknowledged as the leader of his people. This distinction was the result of his diplomatic efforts in Albany and Washington, which had earned him a reputation among whites as well as Native Americans. His command of English also made him a much more suited advocate. In September of 1852, Parker returned to Washington D.C. and met with President Franklin Pierce. He informed Pierce, as he had his predecessors, that the Tonawanda Seneca would not consent to being removed from their land. Upon completing this embassy to the capital city, Parker returned to his duties as an engineer in Rochester. However, by this time Ely began to feel that his education and experience would be better suited to a more prominent position. In 1857 he was appointed Superintendent of lighthouse construction on the upper lakes of New York. This was a massive undertaking, as the region to which Parker was assigned was a heavily traveled route with over six hundred light houses. Shortly after taking up this position a more prominent one opened up and Parker was appointed to take over as Superintendent of a massive construction project in Galena, Illinois.
Subsequently, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the treaty of 1842 was valid, but that only the United States government had to power to remove the Tonawanda from their lands—a disappointment to say the least, but with Parker’s ties to the U.S. government it seemed likely that they Tonawanda would remain on their land. When he arrived in Galena in April of 1857, Ely set to work on his task. However, he found the sluggish nature of the bureaucracy around him to be terribly frustrating. After supervising the beginning of construction on the new customshouse, Parker returned to Washington D.C. to broker an agreement between the Tonawanda and the United States. Throughout June and July of 1857, Parker and a delegation of Tonawanda Seneca chiefs met with President James Buchanan and finally settled the question of the Tonawanda reservation. As part of the original treaty, the Tonawanda Seneca were given land in Kansas on which to settle. Parker agreed to give the land back in exchange for title to the land they were already occupying. The President agreed and the matter was finally settled.
Having finally won a major victory for his people, Parker went back to work in Galena. On August 8, 1859, the Galena customshouse and marine hospital officially opened amid accolades from the local citizenry and members of the United States government. For his efforts, Parker was placed in charge of yet another construction project in Dubuque, Iowa. Parker had an even more difficult task before him when he assumed his duties in Dubuque. Not only was this a much larger undertaking but his predecessor had generated so much animosity among the workers that the entire project seemed in grave danger. Once again, Parker put his keen intellectual mind to the task. Lacking a full staff, he frequently made trips throughout Illinois and Ohio in order to gather sufficient building materials. It was during one of these trips that Ely Parker made the acquaintance of a former army officer named Ulysses S. Grant.
In the summer of 1860, Parker was passing through Galena where Grant was working as a grocer. At their first meeting, Parker could tell that Grant was unhappy with his profession. The two men had much in common; Parker studied engineering in a hands on capacity and Grant graduated from West Point as an Army Engineer. On one occasion, Parker rushed to defend Grant in a barroom fistfight—a fight that had been precipitated by Grant’s heavy drinking and general distemper at his station. Nonetheless, Parker was not in the least hesitant to defend his new friend. The two would see combat again—this time during the Civil War.
Despite his performance in his previous leadership roles and the quality of the construction projects that he supervised, Ely Parker could not survive the spoils system that was so much a part of American politics. With the election of Republican Abraham Lincoln to the presidency in 1860, Parker, a Democrat, was removed as Superintendent of the Dubuque construction project and replaced with a Republican engineer. Crushed, he wrote in his journal, “I do not expect ever again to hold any public position.” At this time, the nation was dividing into two separate political entities. In the south, seven states left the Union and formed their own government—more states would follow. Armies were raised on both sides and the entire continent braced for war. As Parker left his post in April of 1861, the political tension between the two nations had already exploded into all out war.
With hostilities already under way, Parker sought the opportunity to join in the national defense—as his father had done during the war of 1812. He was denied a commission in the New York militia and when he arrived in Washington was told by Secretary of State Seward to “go home…we will settle our own troubles among ourselves without any Indian aid.” Realizing that he was denied a commission because he was not an American citizen, Parker petitioned the U.S. Congress to become one. Having already held a public position of trust, and being a taxpayer in three states, Parker argued that he would be of value as an American citizen. The House of Representatives responded that they did not have the authority to confer citizenship on an individual, only to establish guidelines through which an individual becomes a naturalized citizen of the United States. Parker returned to his family farm and dedicated his efforts to his public duties among the Iroquois Confederacy. However, he still wished to serve the United States in some capacity.
At this time, Native Americans were serving in military units on both sides of the war. The Confederacy had signed nine official treaties with Native American nations in Oklahoma and even possessed a special Cherokee Mounted Rifle unit under the command of the Cherokee Chief Stand Watie. Throughout the Union army, individual Native Americans enlisted in the ranks and gave their lives to fight for the Union cause. Ely’s brother Newton did manage to enlist and was made a sergeant, but his unit was discharged on the authority of the Governor of New York. At the request of Union Colonel John Fisk, Parker did assist in recruiting Native Americans into the Union Army and soon other units were growing throughout New York and the upper United States. In 1863, Ely S. Parker finally received his commission as a Captain in the United States Volunteers (not the regular army, but a military position). John E. Smith, a friend of Parker’s from Galena, who was now a Brigadier General and asked Congress to appoint Parker to his staff. The commission was granted because the general left out one tiny detail about his friend—he neglected to mention that Parker was a Native American. Grant, now a General, interceded and advocated for Parker.
Captain Parker was now ready to serve the United States in what would be its greatest trial. Arriving at Vicksburg on July 7, 1863, Parker was greeted by his old friend, General Ulysses S. Grant. They renewed their friendship and began planning for the Union Army’s next move. Since General Smith’s army lacked an engineer, he appointed Captain Parker to the post. He served with Smith’s army until September of 1864, when he was ordered to take up the post of assistant adjutant general for General Grant. His personal relationship with the general allowed Parker to be spared the considerable racial sentiments of many of his military colleagues. Now a Lt. Colonel, Parker remained at Grant’s side throughout the war. During combat, he was always standing close to his old friend. When Grant would scribble a general order out in his notes, Parker would copy the order and make it readable. He also answered the general’s correspondence. Grant was a disorganized man for a military commander. He disliked papers and left the task of organizing the orders, camp records, and instructions to the field commanders to Parker—who excelled in his task.
In April of 1865, the Union army took the Confederate capital of Richmond. President Davis and his cabinet evacuated the city and fled to the south. General Robert E. Lee made a desperate attempt to keep his army in the field but he was cut off by Grant at Appomattox. On April 9, 1865, Lee sent Grant a short note asking for terms of surrender. Parker drafted Grant’s response and the generals met at the home of Wilmer McLean, Appomattox Court House. Parker recoded the discussions and when the terms of surrender were accepted, he wrote the official copy for both men to sign. With the hostilities now concluded, Grant and Parker boarded a steamer and headed for Washington to inform President Lincoln of the news. On April 12, 1865, Parker was once more a guest of the White House. Once more he sat with the President of the United States and talked of his people and of his love of the Union. Lincoln was impressed and the two men developed an all too brief friendship that was cut tragically short two days later when the President was shot by an assassin at Ford’s Theater.
Parker was still in morning over the assassination when he was asked to attend review of the Union Army in May of 1865. Sitting next to Grant he remarked, “I am of a race that does not forgive the murder of a friend.” Now a Brevet Colonel, Parker was appointed to a commission that was to meet with Indian nations that had signed agreements with the Confederate States of America. This commission was not to take place until September, so Parker was able to accompany the general on a tour of the nation.
In the years after the war, Parker assisted the Office of Indian Affairs in restoring peaceful relations with the tribes that had sided with the Confederacy. His mere presence in these meetings was essential to brining these nations back into a positive diplomatic relationship with the United States. In the capacity of ambassador, Ely Parker once more excelled. As a representative of the United States, Parker asked all the western Indian tribes to lay down their arms and embrace the Union. To the Union representatives, Parker insisted that these tribes be guaranteed lands in the west on which to settle and that should they sign treaties effecting their removal they receive appropriate recompense. For his efforts, Parker was asked his opinion of Indian affairs by state and government officials throughout the United States. With his services to the government concluded, Parker returned to the life of a farmer and Indian advocate. Through the machinations of General Grant, Parker was promoted to full Colonel (brevet being an honorary commission lacking the pay and actual upgrade in rank). In 1867 he married Washington socialite Minnie Orton Sacket, who he had met during one a tour of the Washington social scene the year before.
When Ulysses S. Grant ran for the presidency, Ely Parker was among his most outspoken supporters. When the decorated general won the 1868 election he rewarded his friend with an appointment unparalleled in the annals of American government—Ely S Parker, who technically was not even a citizen of the United States, was appointed Commissioner of Indian Affairs. Several of Parker’s opponents from the fight over the Tonawanda reservation were at the forefront of the movement to approve his nomination. After all the years of dedication to the Seneca and his service to the United States, friend and foe alike insisted that he be given the job. When a legal question over Parker’s status arose, Grant conferred with his Attorney General—both men agreed that even though Parker was not a citizen, he was a taxpayer and had held previous offices of trust under the government. The United States Senate confirmed the nomination by a vote of 36 to 12. Do-ne-ho-ga-wa was now the first Native American to be appointed to a cabinet level position within the United States government.
His first task as commissioner was to clear the Office of Indian Affairs off all the corrupt agents that had for so long greatly endangered relations between the United States and Native Americans. At this time, the Office of Indian Affairs was under the authority of the Department of the Interior. Parker went to Interior Secretary Cox and explained that the only way to improve the status of the Native American was to allow him a proper corridor through which to redress grievances. Commissioner Parker was determined to be that corridor. From the day he assumed office, Parker met with delegations representing nations throughout the United States. Parker sought out assistance from the Society of Friends (Quakers) to supervise new Indian agents and even filled all vacant posts with army officers who had proven themselves in the late war. Through these measures, Parker greatly improved relations between Indian nations and the United States. However, an incident out west was about to threaten all that he accomplished.
On January 23, 1870, a group of Piegan Blackfeet (a tribe located in Montana) were ambushed by American soldiers. Only 33 of the 219 Indians survived. When they told the story of the attack to Indian Agent William Pease, he rushed to Washington to inform the Commissioner. Outraged, Parker demanded an immediate investigation into the attack. He invited delegations representing the Indians of the western territories to the White House for a meeting with President Grant. Though the meeting was tense, Parker managed to mollify the tribes enough to convince them to sign a treaty guaranteeing their western lands.
Despite this victory, Parker’s time in the United States government was coming to an end. He had alienated powerful politicians in his efforts to clean up the Office of Indian Affairs. Though he was guilty of no wrongdoing, Parker was investigated by a congressional committee probing for corruption in the Grant administration. The committee insisted that Parker had violated procedure by not consulting the entire Commission on Indian Affairs when he purchased emergency supplies for starving tribes out west. What choice did he have? The congressional bureaucracy was moving too slow and the natives in the western region were in a desperate situation.. Rather than allowing any more delay, the Commissioner purchased the supplies on his own and sent them out. For this, Parker was publicly humiliated by his enemies in Congress. As a result, Parker resigned as Commissioner of Indian Affairs on August 1, 1871.
Throughout the rest of his life, Parker continued to serve the interests of his people—the Indians and the white man. In 1876, he was appointed Clerk of the Board of Commissioners of New York City. He maintained close ties with President Grant and visited him numerous times while the former president suffered under the labors of throat cancer. Parker was among the dignitaries in Grant’s funeral procession. In the years after Grant's death, he remained a staunch defender his friend’s reputation. In his final years, Parker worked tirelessly for the Board of Commissioners. Despite failing health, he continued to hold office. On August 30, 1895, he died. The man who was more than an Indian, and more than a white man, dedicated his life to serving all Americans. In the years after his death he would be remembered for his contributions. Ely S. Parker was a true American.
