Historian Erin Kramer will discuss how early relationships between the Dutch and Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) shaped the development and significance of Albany, New York. Albany (called “the ancient house” by a Haudenosaunee orator) was an essential space where Indigenous people articulated what it meant for Europeans to settle in their world. This talk will illustrate how Haudenosaunee people shaped the town, its politics, and the laws enforced there through a century of negotiations, and how they sought redress and to hold colonists to their agreements. By incorporating Haudenosaunee stories into the broader narrative of New York history, Kramer will examine how Albany became a negotiated community, a site of dialogue, and a critical central place in early America.

Erin B. Kramer is an associate professor of history at Trinity University in San Antonio, TX.

This public program is made possible by federal Library Service and Technology Act funds from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, which enable the New York State Library to champion lifelong learning.