Treaty of Big Tree

Treaty of Big Tree was a formal treaty signed in 1797 between the Seneca Nation and the United States, in which the Seneca relinquished their rights to nearly all of their traditional homeland in New York State—nearly 3.5 million acres. In the 1788 Phelps and Gorham Purchase, the Iroquois had previously sold rights to their land between Seneca Lake and the Genesee River. The Treaty of Big Tree signed away their rights to all their territory west of the Genesee River except ten small tracts of land for $100,000 and other considerations (roughly $5 billion in 2020 dollars, in relation to GDP). The money was not paid directly to the tribe, but was to be invested in shares of the Bank of the United States, and to be paid out to the Senecas in annual earnings of up to six percent, or $6,000 a year, on the bank stock. 
The delegates for both parties met from August 20, 1797 until September 16, 1797 at the residence of William Wadsworth, an early pioneer of the area and captain of the local militia, in what is now Geneseo, New York. A meadow between Wadsworth's cabin and the gigantic oak by the river was the site of the conference.
In attendance were nearly 3000 Seneca and other prominent members of the Six Nations of the Iroquois. Representing them were their "hoyaneh" chiefs: Cornplanter, Red Jacket, Young King, Little Billy, Farmer's Brother, Handsome Lake, Tall Chief, Little Beard and others; the clan mothers of the nation; and Mary Jemison. Those in attendance representing the United States were: Colonel Jeremiah Wadsworth, Commissioner, who was assigned by President George Washington to represent the United States government; Captain Charles Williamson and Thomas Morris, representing his father; Robert Morris; General William Shepard, representing Massachusetts; William Bayard, representing New York; Theophilus Cazenove and Paolo Busti, representatives for the Holland Land Company; Captain Israel Chapin, representing the Department of Indian Affairs; Joseph Ellicott, land surveyor; and James Rees as acting secretary. The official interpreters were Horatio Jones and Jasper Parrish.
All of the treaty delegates for the United States were housed in William's log cabin and new cobblestone house. A council house was erected by the Seneca, and proceedings were held there. The treaty was signed on September 16, 1797, after nearly a month of often heated back-and-forth negotiations. Following negotiations, Robert Morris requested the $100,000 principal revert to his heirs if “the Seneca nation” should ever “become extinct”. The presiding secretaries of Treasury and State denied his request. This treaty is substantial as it opened up the rest of the territory west of the Genesee River for settlement and established ten reservations, perpetual annuities and hunting and fishing rights for the Seneca in Western New York.
Namesake.
The treaty was signed in present-day village of Geneseo, New York. At the time of the treaty's signing, this area was known as Big Tree because the area had multiple enormous oak trees standing on otherwise bare fields. One particularly large oak tree positioned on the bank of the Genesee River in Geneseo was also known as the Big Tree. The prolific size of the tree made it well known in the area. The proximity of the conference to the town of Big Tree and the Big Tree itself gave the treaty its name. Following the signing of the treaty, the Big Tree became a popular sightseeing destination for white settlers as a symbol of the land acquired from the Senecas from the treaty. 
The Big Tree was washed from the banks of the river and carried into Lake Ontario in late 1857 as the result of a flood. Earlier that year, the truck of the tree was measured as having a circumference of 26 feet and 9 inches. The Livingston County Historical Society Museum in Geneseo, New York houses a restored section of the last remaining remnant of the supposed Big Tree. 
Seneca Nation reservations.
The following reservations were guaranteed by the treaty:
The treaty left the exact location and sizes of the Buffalo Creek and Tonawanda Creek reservations undefined. In October, 1798, Augustus Porter, acting on behalf of Joseph Ellicott and the Holland Land Company, conducted a survey of the area. He fixed the boundaries and defined the extent of the Buffalo Creek Reservation at . In the course of the survey he caused the north-west corner of the tract to be bent so that the mouth of Buffalo Creek would be outside the reservation.