Jesse Cornplanter

Jesse J. Cornplanter (September 16, 1889 – March 18, 1957) was an actor, artist, author, craftsman, Seneca Faithkeeper, and decorated veteran of World War I. The last male descendant of Cornplanter, an important 18th-century Haudenosaunee leader and war chief, his Seneca name was (He Strokes the Rushes ). He illustrated several books about Seneca and Haudenosaunee life. Jesse Cornplanter wrote and illustrated Legends of the Longhouse, which records many Haudenosaunee traditional stories.

Personal Jesse Cornplanter was born in 1889 to Seneca parents Nancy Jack and Edward Cornplanter on the Cattaraugus Reservation in New York. His mother was of the Snipe Clan of the Tonawanda and the matrilineal traditions of the tribe passed the Snipe Clan designation to the children. He had six sisters and three brothers, but because of childhood diseases, only two of his sisters survived, Carrie and Anna, until 1918 when Carrie perished. He was the last male direct descendant of Cornplanter, a renowned Seneca war chief during and after the American Revolutionary War.

Although his formal education never progressed past the third grade, his knowledge of Seneca customs, songs and rituals made him a popular resource on Seneca information, sought both from within and also outside the tribe. While he was serving in the war, his father died. This was followed by the deaths of most of his remaining family in the 1918 flu pandemic, including his mother Nancy, sister Carrie, and nieces and nephews. Only his sister Anna and two orphaned children of Carrie survived. Cornplanter helped support and rear the surviving children upon his return from Europe.

After the war, Cornplanter held many respected positions within his tribe. These included the ceremonial chief of the Long House and the chief of New Town, a traditional village. He sang for the Great Feather Dancer and was head singer for many ceremonies.

Because Jesse Cornplanter left no heirs, his death in 1957 marked the official expiration of a treaty granting Cornplanter's heirs a perpetual Pennsylvania land grant, called the Cornplanter Tract, of about 1500 acres along the Allegheny River. Much of this land was submerged by the Allegheny Reservoir after completion of the Kinzua Dam in 1965. The US Army Corps of Engineers acquired the land and built the dam for flood control, hydropower and recreation. This was in addition to 10,000 acres along the Allegheny River the COE took by right of eminent domain from the Seneca Nation.

Actor

In 1906, Cornplanter accompanied his father Edward, acting and singing in the Hiawatha pageant for many months. His travels with the troop also took him to England and Europe where his performances were favorably noted. Forty-six of Cornplanter's drawings are in collection SC12845 at the New York State Library. The proceeds from sales of Jesse's illustrations were used to produce and award the Cornplanter Medal every two years to a person best contributing to the research and knowledge of the Iroquois.

He illustrated The Code of Handsome Lake, a manuscript collaborated between his father, Edward Cornplanter (Seneca name Sosondowah), and Arthur C. Parker.

Cornplanter also wrote and illustrated his own book, Legends of the Longhouse, published in 1938.

His paintings are considered to be in the Iroquois Realist Style. This tradition dates to the 1820s work by brothers, David and Dennis Cusick (Tuscarora).

Although best known for his illustrations, Cornplanter was also a traditional wood carver. He greatly influenced successive generations of Haudenosaunee artists.