Onondaga (tribe)

Infobox Ethnic group
group = Onondaga


population = 80,000+
region1 = flagcountry|United States (New York)
pop1 =
ref1 =
region2 = flagcountry|Canada (Ontario)
pop2 =
ref2 =
religions = Longhouse, Handsome Lake, Gai'hwi:io, Kanoh'hon'io, Kahni'kwi'io, Other Indigenous Religion
languages = English, Onöñda'gega', Other Iroquoian Dialects
related = Seneca Nation, Oneida Nation, Tuscarora Nation, Mohawk Nation, Cayuga Nation, other Iroquoian peoplesThe Onondaga ("Onöñda'gega' "or "the People of the Hills") are one of the original five constituent nations of the Iroquois ("Haudenosaunee") Confederacy. Their traditional homeland is in and around Onondaga County, New York. Being centrally located, they were the Keepers of the Fire (Kayečisnakweˀnì•yuˀ [Rudes, B. "Tuscarora English Dictionary" Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1999] in Tuscarora) in the figurative longhouse, with the Cayuga and Seneca to their west and the Oneida and Mohawk to their east. For this reason, the League of the Iroquois historically met at the Iroquois government's capital at Onondaga, as indeed the traditional chiefs do today.

History

In the American Revolutionary War, the Onondaga were at first officially neutral, although individual Onondaga warriors were involved in at least one raid on American settlements. After an American attack on their main village on April 20, 1779, the Onondaga later sided with the majority of the League and fought against the United States in alliance with the British. Thereafter, many Onondaga followed Joseph Brant to Six Nations, Ontario, after the United States was accorded independence.

On November 11, 1794, the Onondaga Nation, along with the other Haudenosaunee nations, signed the Treaty of Canandaigua with the United States, in which their right to their homeland was acknowledged by the United States in article II of the treaty. [ [http://www.canandaigua-treaty.org/The_Canandaigua_Treaty_of_1794.html 1794 Canandaigua Treaty Commemoration Committee, Inc.] ]

Those Onondaga remaining in New York are under the government of traditional chiefs nominated by clan mothers, rather than elected.On March 11, 2005, the Onondaga Nation of Nedrow, New York, filed a land rights action in federal court, seeking acknowledgment of title to over convert|3000|sqmi|km2 of ancestral lands centering in Syracuse, New York. In doing so they hope to obtain increased influence over environmental restoration efforts at Onondaga Lake and other EPA Superfund sites in the claimed area. This lawsuit is facing a motion to dismiss based on the precedent established in the Cayuga nation's land claim [http://www.syracuse.com/news/poststandard/index.ssf?/base/news-6/1155718727202510.xml&coll=1&thispage=2] and other defenses.

Notable Onondaga people

*Oren Lyons [Lives at Onondaga and holds a Faithkeeper title, but is Seneca]
*Sid Hill [Tadodaho]
*Tom Longboat [Six Nations]

Today

* Onondaga Nation in Nedrow, New York outside Syracuse
* Onondaga of Ohswegen and Bearfoot Onondaga, both at Six Nations of the Grand River, Ontario, Canada

Other spellings encountered

*"Onöñda'gega"' Onondaga Language
*"Onontakeka" Oneida Language
*"Onondagaono" Seneca Language

ee also

*Onondaga language

Notes

References

*Calloway, Colin G. (2004). "First Peoples" (2nd Ed.). Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's. ISBN 0-312-39889-1.
* [http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/DTTable?_bm=y&-context=dt&-ds_name=DEC_2000_SF1_U&-CONTEXT=dt&-mt_name=DEC_2000_SF1_U_P001&-mt_name=DEC_2000_SF1_U_P003&-tree_id=4001&-transpose=N&-redoLog=true&-all_geo_types=Y&-_caller=geoselect&-geo_id=label&-geo_id=25000US2570&-search_results=25000US2570&-format=&-_lang=en&-show_geoid=Y Onondaga Reservation, New York] United States Census Bureau

External links

* [http://www.onondaganation.org Onondaga Nation web page]

Iroquois Confederacy