BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — A Seneca Nation leader and Civil War general is set to become the first-ever Native American posthumously admitted to the New York State Bar of Attorneys.
Ely S. Parker served for the Union Army in the Civil War from 1863 until 1869. He was born in Indian Falls in Genesee County, which was traditional Seneca Nation land for hundreds of years, in 1828.
In the 1840s, Parker “read the law” for three years at a firm in Ellicottville. He met all of the requirements and completed training to be admitted to the New York State Bar of Attorneys, but was denied the opportunity to officially practice law because the United States did not consider Native Americans to be citizens…