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WHEREAS, Simon Girty was the son of Irish immigrants from the Harrisburg area and in 1756 was captured and adopted by the Seneca Indians and raised to adulthood as a member of the Seneca Nation; and,
WHEREAS, following a 1764 treaty with the Indians, Simon Girty was repatriated to the British settlement at Ft. Pitt where he was reunited with his family. They blazed a 140 acre claim to become the first settlers on land that is now part of Greenfield and Squirrel Hill. Having been fully assimilated with the Seneca Indians, preferring that way of life and proficient in 11 languages, Simon Girty was the principal interpreter at the signing of the Treaty of Ft. Stanwix between the Iroquois and the British. He was a scout, an interpreter and an intermediary between the Indians, the British and the American colonists; and,
WHEREAS, having observed atrocities against the Indians during the Squaw Campaign, Simon Girty came to believe that if the Americans won independence from the British, they would cross the Ohio River and seize their lands so in 1778 during the American Revolution, Simon Girty left the service of the Virginia Militia to join the British and fight alongside the Indians; and,
WHEREAS, in 1794 at the Great Conference of AuGlaize, Indians from all over North America gathered to unite. Simon Girty was the only non-Indian invited to participate; and,
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NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh does hereby recognize a Day of Reconciliation between the descendants of the Indians and Settlers who once lived here and recognizes the dedication of a Pennsylvania State Historical and Museums marker for Simon Girty.