Maris Bryant Pierce

Maris Bryant Pierce (1811–1874; also known as Ha-dya-no-doh, Swift Runner), was a Seneca Nation chief, lawyer, and teacher. He was a tribal land-rights activist, and a major influence to the Second Treaty of Buffalo Creek of 1838.

Early life and education Maris Bryant Pierce was born in 1811 on the Allegany Indian Reservation in Cattaraugus County, New York. He attended the Quaker school Fredonia Academy, and a few boarding schools in New York state, and in Thetford, Vermont.

Pierce attended Moor's Indian Charity School (which later became Dartmouth College), from 1836 to 1840. Fourteen other Seneca chiefs supported Pierce in the opposition of the land removal. Pierce was under complex pressure as a mediator between the two cultures, and he engaged in the discussion of "European enlightenment" in order to argue against Seneca land removal.

Later in his career, Pierce served as a language interpreter for the Seneca Nation, and he helped the Seneca Nation adopt an elective government.

Death and legacy Pierce died on August 9, 1874, at the Cattaraugus Reservation. and in the Smithsonian Online Virtual Archives.