Overview

The name Oneida (oh-NI-duh), or Onyotaa:ka, as they call themselves, means "people of the stone set up." The Oneida language belongs to the Iroquoian language family, which also includes the Mohawk, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca tongues. The tribes formed a confederacy centuries ago known as the Five Nations, or Ho'da'sho'ne, "People of the Long House." Each group lived in a distinct territory, with the Mohawk residing east of the Oneidas and the other three residing to the west. The confederacy became The Six Nations when the Oneidas granted shelter and later admission into the League of the linguistically and culturally related Tuscaroras. The Tuscaroras were fleeing north from war in the Carolinas in 1722. The Oneidas were once a strong and flourishing traditional native society living in what is now in modern-day central New York State, and their territory stretched from the St. Lawrence River in the...