Ely Samuel Parker

Parker, Ely Samuel (Do-ne-ho-ga-wa; 1828–95), first Native American U.S. Commissioner of Indian Affairs (1869–71). Parker, a Seneca Iroquois, studied law but was not permitted to practice and instead became a civil engineer. He served as Ulysses S. Grant's military secretary during the Civil War and drafted the terms for the Confederate surrender. He became a brigadier general (1867), but resigned his commission when President Grant appointed him Commissioner of Indian Affairs.