Oneida

Treaty of January 9, 1789 – Six Nations

Articles of a treaty made at Fort Harmar, the ninth day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-nine, between Arthur St. Clair, esquire, governor of the territory of the United States of America, north-west of the river Ohio, and commissioner plenipotentiary of the said United States, for removing all causes of controversy, regulating trade, and settling boundaries, between the Indian nations in the northern department and the said United States, of the one part, and the sachems and warriors of the Six Nations, of the other part: Article 1. Whereas the United States, … Read more

Oneida Indian Chiefs and Leaders

Peter Otsiquette An Oneida chief who signed the treaty of 1788. He was a well educated man and had visited Lafayette in France, but returned to savage life. He was a member of the delegation of chiefs to Philadelphia in 1792, where he died and was buried with military honors. He is also called Peter Otzagert and Peter Jaquette. Elkanah Watson described him at the treaty of 1788. Peter Otsiequette, perhaps the same Indian, witnessed the Onondaga treaty of 1790. (w. 51. B.) Oneyana Alias Beech Tree. An Oneida Chief at the treaty of 1788, and called Peter Oneyana at the … Read more

Oneida Tribe

A tribe of the Iroquois confederation, formerly occupying the country south of Oneida Lake, Oneida county, N. Y., and latterly including the upper waters of the Susquehanna.

Skenandoah’s Grave, Hamilton College, Clinton, New York

Grave of Oneida Chief Skenandoah

Heading southwest out of Utica, and still following the Central Trail of the Six Nations, the Akwesasne Warriors headed for Hamilton College near the little village, of Clinton It was here that the great Oneida Chief, Skenandoah, is buried, and the region that they were now in was the territory of the ancient Oneida nation, the land deeded to by the Great Spirit. In the Hamilton College Cemetery the warriors saw a large head-stone where the remains of Skenandoah were transferred in 1856 so that he might lie next to his white brother, Samuel Kirkland, the founder of the College. … Read more

Oneida Tribal Stone, Utica, New York

The tribal name of the Oneida Nation, one of the nations of the Iroquois Confederacy, is Tiioneniote ‘There it is, a Rock has Set up’. They the Oneidas’ are known as The People of the Upright Stone. In ancient days there appeared near their main village a large granite boulder. When later they moved their village, they were surprised to find that this boulder had followed them and was resting near the new village. This strange thing happened several times and they soon regarded the Stone as a sacred monument, a guardian of their nation and people, their Tribal Guardian. … Read more

Oneida Chief Shikellamy

Oneida Chieftain Shikellamy

With To-re-wa-wa-kon ‘Paul Wallace’ as a guide, the Mohawks headed over a road, that once was an Indian trail, toward the north. Their route was over a beautiful country of hills and valleys. With their friend they soon reached the beautiful Susquehanna River Valley. At Sunbury, Pa. they visited the site of the cabin of old Chief Shikellamy. It was here that the great Oneida chief, the overseer of Vice-Gerent of the Delaware and other refugee Indians of the region lived. This was where his village, Shamokin, was located and where be spent most of his time from 1728 to … Read more

Oneida Stone, An Aboriginal Palladium

Oneida Stone

Characteristic traits, in the history of races, often develop themselves in connection with the general or local features of a country, or even with some minor object in its natural history. There is a remarkable instance of this development of aboriginal mind in the history of the Oneidas. This tribe derives its name from a celebrated stone, (a view of which is annexed) which lies partly imbedded in the soil, on one of the highest eminences in the territory formerly occupied by that tribe, in Western New York. This ancient and long-remembered object in the surface geology of the country, … Read more

1838 Oneida Indian Census

We, the undersigned Chiefs and Head Men of the Orchard Party of Oneida Indians residing at Green Bay, Wisconsin Territory, do hereby certify that the above and foregoing lists, is a just and true Census and enumeration of the number of persons belonging to said party, that is to say, Fifty-three (53) men, Fifty-two (52) women, and One hundred and one (101) children, making a total of Two hundred and six (206) souls, and that the same was taken by H. S. Baird, U. S. Commissioner, in open council, in our presence, at Duck Creek, on the 15th day of … Read more

Oneida and Cayuga join the Iroquois Confederacy

“The Oneida and Cayuga,” says Gallatin, “are said to have been compelled to join [the confederacy.] Those two tribes were the younger and the three others the older members.” Zinzendorf, speaking of the Iroquois, says “the Oneidas and Cayuga are their children.”–Indian tribes of North America. “By the early French writers, the Mohawks and Oneidas were styled the lower or inferior Iroquois; while the Onondagas, Cayuga and Seneca, were denominated the upper or superior Iroquois, because they were located near the sources of the St. Lawrence. The Mohawks, who are commonly supposed to be the first nation in the confederacy … Read more

Hiawatha Speaks to the Tribes

At length he regained his composure and took his seat in the council, whose deliberations were participated in by the ablest counselors of the assembled nations. At the conclusion of the debate, Hiawatha, desiring that nothing should be done hastily and inconsiderately, proposed that the council be postponed one day, so that they might weigh well the words which had been spoken, when he promised to communicate his plan for consideration, assuring them of his confidence in its success. The following day the council again assembled and amid breathless silence the sage counselor thus addressed them: “Friends and Brothers: You … Read more

Taounyawatha – Deity of the Forest

This was a part of the broad domain of the Iroquois Confederacy,   which extended, in general terms, from the Hudson to the Genesee, and from the north to the south boundary of this State. This confederacy was composed of the following nations, located in the following order from east to west, the Mohawk, (Ganeagaonos,) Its origin is buried in the obscurity of vague tradition and was unknown to civilized nations in 1750. on the river which bears their name, the Oneida, (Onayotekaonos) Onondaga, (Onundagaonos) Cayugas, (Gwengwehonos) and Seneca, (Nundawaonos) mostly adjacent to the lakes which bear their names. The traditions … Read more

Oneida Indian Bands, Gens and Clans

Many tribes have sub-tribes, bands, gens, clans and phratry.  Often very little information is known or they no longer exist.  We have included them here to provide more information about the tribes. First Christian Party. A division of the Oneida at the period of the removal to Green bay, Wis., and afterward a Washington treaty (1828) in U. S. Ind. Treat., 621, 1873. First Christian Party Roll