Editing Cornplanter (section)

{{Short description|Seneca war chief and diplomat (1752–1836)}}
{{other uses}}
{{Infobox American Indian chief
| name            = Cornplanter
| image           = Cornplanter.jpg
| image_size      = 
| caption         = Chief Cornplanter, portrait by Frederick Bartoli, 1796
| tribe           = [[Seneca people|Seneca]]
| lead            = 
| birth_date      = {{circa|1752}}
| birth_place     = Canawaugus (now part of [[Caledonia (town), New York|Caledonia]], [[Livingston County, New York|Livingston]], [[New York (state)|New York]]
| death_date      = February 18, 1836 
| death_place     = [[Cornplanter Tract]], [[Warren County, Pennsylvania|Warren]], [[Pennsylvania]]
| predecessor     = 
| successor       = Edward Cornplanter
| native_name     = Gaiänt'wakê, Kaintwakon
| nicknames       = John Abeel, John O'Bail, John O'Beale
| known_for       = War chief of the Seneca during the [[American Revolutionary War]]
| death_cause     = 
| resting_place   = [[Elk Township, Warren County, Pennsylvania]]
| rp_coordinates  = 
| religion        = 
| party           = 
| education       = 
| spouse          = 
| partner         = 
| children        = Henry O'Bail, Charles O'Bail, Polly O'Bail, William O'Bail, Esther O'Bail, Ja-wa-a-joh
| parents         = Gah-hon-no-neh ([[Seneca nation|Seneca]]), Johannes Abeel ([[Netherlands|Dutch]])
| relations       = [[Handsome Lake]] (half-brother)<br> [[Guyasuta|Guyasutha]] (uncle).<br>[[Governor Blacksnake|Chainbreaker]] (nephew)
| signature       = 
| footnotes       = 
}}

'''John Abeel III''' ({{circa|1752}}–February 18, 1836)<ref name="Abler 2007">{{cite book |last1=Abler |first1=Thomas S. |title=Cornplanter: Chief Warrior of the Allegany Senecas |date=2007 |publisher=Syracuse University Press |location=Syracuse, New York |isbn=9780815631149}}</ref> known as '''Gaiänt'wakê''' (''Gyantwachia'' – "the planter") or '''Kaiiontwa'kon''' (''Kaintwakon'' – "By What One Plants") in the [[Seneca language]] and thus [[Anglicisation|generally known]] as '''Cornplanter''', was a [[Dutch people|Dutch]]-[[Seneca people|Seneca]] chief warrior and diplomat of the [[Seneca people]]. As a war chief, Cornplanter fought in the [[American Revolutionary War]] on the side of the British. After the war Cornplanter led negotiations with the United States and was a signatory of the [[Treaty of Fort Stanwix (1784)|Treaty of Fort Stanwix]] (1784), the [[Treaty of Canandaigua]] (1794), and other treaties. He helped ensure Seneca neutrality during the [[Northwest Indian War]].

In the postwar years, Cornplanter endeavoured to learn more about Euro-American culture and invited [[Quakers]] to establish schools in Seneca territory. After the [[War of 1812]] he became disillusioned by his people's poor reaction to Euro-American society. He had the schools closed and embraced his half-brother [[Handsome Lake]]'s movement to return to traditional Seneca ways and religion.

The United States government granted him about 1500 acres of former Seneca territory in Pennsylvania in 1796 for "him and his heirs forever," which became known as the [[Cornplanter Tract]]. The federal government, however, started construction of the [[Kinzua Dam]] on the [[Allegany River]] in 1960. When the dam was completed the Cornplanter Tract was flooded and most of the few remaining residents moved to the [[Allegany Reservation]] of the federally recognized [[Seneca Nation of New York]]. Before flooding occurred the remains of Cornplanter, his descendants, and an 1866 monument to him were relocated.