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People of the Standing Stone
Oneida, self-name Onᐱyoteʔa∙ká (“People of the Standing Stone”), Iroquoian-speaking North American Indian tribe living, at the time of European contact, in what is now central New York state, U.S. They are one of the original five nations of the Iroquois (Haudenosaunee) Confederacy. Like the other Iroquois tribes, the Oneida were semisedentary and practiced corn (maize) agriculture. Longhouses sheltered families related through maternal descent. The Oneida were divided into three clans, each having three representatives in the confederation. Each community also had a local council that guided its chief or chiefs. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Oneida-people
Originally the Oneida lived in what is now central New York, particularly around Oneida Lake and Oneida County. Today the Oneida have four federally recognized nations: the Oneida Indian Nation in New York, the Oneida Nation in and around Green Bay, Wisconsin, in the United States; and two in Ontario, Canada: Oneida at Six Nations of the Grand River and Oneida Nation of the Thames in Southwold. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oneida_people
Culture
Beginnings
The name Oneida is derived from the English pronunciation of Onyota'a:ka, the people's name for themselves. Onyota'a:ka means "People of the Standing Stone". This identity is based on an ancient legend. The Oneida people were being pursued on foot by an enemy tribe. As their enemies chased the Oneida into a clearing within the woodlands, they suddenly disappeared. The enemy could not find them, and so it was said that the Oneida had shapeshifted into the stones that stood in the clearing. As a result, they became known as the People of the Standing Stone.
Older legends have the Oneida people identifying as Latilutakówa, the "Big Tree People", "People of big trees". Not much is written about this. Iroquoian elders would have to be consulted on the oral history of this identification. The association may correspond to Iroquoian concepts of the Tree of Peace and the associated belief system of the people.
Individuals born into the Oneida Nation are identified according to their spirit name, or what may be called an Indian name, their clan, and their family unit within a clan. The people have a matrilineal kinship system, and children are considered to be born into the mother's clan, through which descent and inheritance passes. Each gender, clan, and family unit within a clan has particular duties and responsibilities in the tribe. Clan identities go back to the Creation Story of the Onyota'a:ka peoples. The people identify with three clans: the Wolf, Turtle or Bear clans. Children take their social status from their mother's clan. Because of this, her eldest brother is a significant figure for the children, especially boys. He supervises the boys' passage into adulthood as men.
Dancing
There are two types of Oneida dancing: social and ceremonial. Social dancing is for the enjoyment of all people. The round dance, rabbit dance, old moccasin dance and canoe or fishing dance are different types of social dances. Ceremonial dancing is sacred and is not to be performed in public. Sacred dances are meant to be performed privately in the longhouses. The Maple Syrup, Strawberry, Bean, Sun and Moon dances are different types of ceremonial dances. Singing is a part of ceremonial dancing; however, they only chant during social dances. There is an introduction for every song. When the beat changes, the dancing begins. Cues are given from the drums, which indicate to the dancers when to switch partners. If a dancer was invited to dance, but refused, etiquette required them to offer tobacco as a settlement. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oneida_people
History
The least populous of the Iroquois confederates during the 17th century, the Oneida had only one palisaded town of 60 to 100 longhouses; it was destroyed by a French Canadian expedition in 1696. Thereafter the community divided into Oneida (Upper Castle) and Canawaroghere. In the early 18th century a village of North Carolina Tuscarora joined the Oneida, becoming the sixth nation of the Iroquois Confederacy; their former enemies residing in the Carolinas became the targets of war parties for a generation.
The Oneida supported the colonists in the American Revolution and consequently felt the depredations of the pro-British Iroquois led by the Mohawk chief Joseph Brant. Oneida communities took shelter within American lines, and Oneida men served the fledgling American military as scouts. Returning to their homes after the war, they were compensated by the U.S. government for their losses and took in remnants of the Mohegan nation. In the following years the Oneida divided into factions resulting from disagreements over Quaker missions, traditional religion, and the sale of lands. By 1833 those who had not settled at Oneida on the Thames River in Ontario had emigrated to Green Bay, Wisconsin; a few families remained at Oneida and Onondaga, NewYork. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Oneida-people
Land
1794 Treaty of Canandaigua
After the war, the Oneida were displaced by retaliatory and other raids by American settlers, who did not always distinguish between Iroquois who had been allies or foes. In 1794 they, along with other Haudenosaunee nations, signed the Treaty of Canandaigua with the United States. They were granted six million acres (24,000 km2) of lands, primarily in New York; this was effectively the first Indian reservation in the United States. Subsequent treaties and actions by the State of New York drastically reduced their land to 32 acres.
1838 Treaty in Wisconsin
Essentially the Oneida had to share land at the Onondaga Reservation and did not have land to call their own. In the 1820s and 1830s many of the Oneida remaining in New York relocated to Wisconsin, where they were allowed to buy land, and to Canada, because the United States was pressing for Indian removals from eastern states. Settlers kept encroaching on them.
In 1838 Daniel Bread (1800-1873) helped negotiate a treaty for the Oneida in Wisconsin by which they asserted their intention to hold their piece of land communally. The amount of land had been reduced by the U.S., as had happened to the Menominee-Stockbridge Indians.
Cornelius Hill succeeded Daniel Bread as Chief after his death in 1873, and for decades fought further relocation of the Oneida, as well as privatization of common lands pursuant to the Dawes Act of 1887, which allowed such after a 25-year trust period. Hill, however, was based in Wisconsin and died in 1907, ostensibly during the trust period which would expire around 1920. After Hill's death, William Rockwell, a conservative, led the Oneida in New York essentially from 1910 to 1960.
Women Oneida activists pushed tribal land claims in the early 20th century. Laura "Minnie" Cornelius Kellogg and her attorney husband (from the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin), and Mary Cornelius Winder and her sister Delia Cornelius Waterman (from the Oneida Indian Nation of New York) were particularly influential from 1920 on in pressing land claims. The women worked from their homes in Prattsburg, New York and Oneida, Wisconsin.[9] Particularly after the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, Winder and her sister reached out to the Oneida of Wisconsin, and both American branches of the nation pushed jointly for their land claim. At that point, the remaining Oneida in New York had no land, and were subject to the Onondaga sharing their reservation.
They were encouraged by passage of the Indian Claims Commission Act of 1946, as before that they were unable to bring claims against the US government.
In 1970 and 1974 the Oneida Indian Nation of New York, Oneida Nation of Wisconsin, and the Oneida Nation of the Thames (made up of descendants of people who did not move to Canada until the 1840s) filed suit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York to reclaim land taken from them by New York without approval of the United States Congress. In 1998, the United States intervened in the lawsuits on behalf of the plaintiffs in the claim so the claim could proceed against New York State. The state had asserted immunity from suit under the Eleventh Amendment to the United States Constitution. The Defendants moved for summary judgment based on the U. S. Supreme Court's decision in City of Sherrill v. Oneida Indian Nation and the 2nd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals' decision in Cayuga Indian Nation v. New York.
On May 21, 2007, Judge Kahn dismissed the Oneida's possessory land claims and allowed the non-possessory claims to proceed.[13] More recent litigation has formalized the split. It defines the separate interests of the Oneida tribe who stayed in New York and those who relocated to Wisconsin. The Oneida of Wisconsin have brought suit to reacquire lands in their ancestral homelands as part of the settlement of the aforementioned litigation. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oneida_people
Oneida Today
Recognized Oneida nations:
- Oneida Indian Nation in New York
- Oneida Nation of Wisconsin, in and around Green Bay, Wisconsin
- Oneida Nation of the Thames in Southwold, Ontario
- Oneida at Six Nations of the Grand River, Ontario
Early 21st-century population estimates indicated approximately 23,000 individuals of Oneida descent, most of whom lived in Wisconsin, New York, and Ontario.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oneida_people
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Oneida-people
Oneida Indian Nation of New York
Today, the Oneida Indian Nation has regained more than 18,000 acres of their original homelands – the most they have had recognized sovereignty over since 1824. A slow steady climb and dedicated perseverance has led to a resurgence for the Oneida Indian Nation that today prospers through their many diverse enterprises, including Turning Stone Resort Casino and a chain of SavOn Convenience stores.
This economic upturn has allowed the Oneida Indian Nation to provide many
programs and services to its Members as well as reinvest in their enterprises and community to become an economic engine in the Central New York region, as one of the largest employers in the state. https://www.oneidaindiannation.com/history/
Oneida Nation of Wisconsin
The Oneida Reservation comprises portions of eastern Outagamie and western Brown counties. The shape of the reservation is an angled rectangle directed to the northeast, laid out along the Fox River, which runs in the same direction. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the reservation has a total area of 102.27 square miles (264.88 km2), of which 102.14 square miles (264.5 km2) is land and 0.13 square miles (0.3 km2) is water.
Communities:
Ashwaubenon (part, population 907)
Chicago Corners
Green Bay (part, population 11,306)
Hobart (all, population 5,090)
Howard (part, population 3)
Oneida
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oneida_Nation_of_Wisconsin
Oneida Nation of the Thames
The Oneida Nation of the Thames is an Onyota'a:ka (Oneida) First Nations band government located in southwestern Ontario on what is commonly referred to as the "Oneida Settlement",[citation needed] located about a 30-minute drive from London, Ontario, Canada. The Oneida Nation reports a total of 6,108 members, including 2,159 residents.
The Oneida people who live in this reserve also have a traditional longhouse and government. There are two factions: the River Road Longhouse follows the Code of Handsome Lake as well as the Great Law.
A number of Oneida own independent businesses, including several craft shops, variety stores, gas bars, and a great number of smoke shops. Two elementary schools have been built: Standing Stone and The Log School (Tsi ni yu kwali ho:tu')'. A health clinic is located in downtown Oneida. This area includes a community-owned radio station, administration building, senior rest home, a volunteer fire hall/ambulance station, water treatment facility, sewage treatment facilities, public works building, community centre, police station, and a training centre. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oneida_Nation_of_the_Thames
Six Nations of the Grand River
Six Nations (or Six Nations of the Grand River, French: Réserve des Six Nations, Seneca: Ye:i’ Níónöëdzage:h) is demographically the largest First Nations reserve in Canada. As of the end of 2017, it has a total of 27,276 members, 12,848 of whom live on the reserve. It is the only reserve in North America that has representatives of all six Haudenosaunee nations living together. These nations are the Mohawk, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida, Seneca and Tuscarora. Some Lenape (formerly known as Delaware) also live in the territory. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_Nations_of_the_Grand_River
Notable Oneidas
- Aaliyah, American recording artist, of Oneida and African-American descent.
- Carl J. Artman, Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
- Chief Daniel 'De-how-ya-di-lou' Bread, (1800-1873), principal chief of the Oneida.
- Polly Cooper, leader, took white corn to General Washington and troops in 1777-1778 during the Revolution in winter quarters at Valley Forge and taught them how to cook it.
- Chief Cornelius Doxtator, Oneida Chief Warrior, fought and perished in the War of 1812
- Sachem Honyere "Tewahangarahken" Doxtator, Oneida/Chief Warrior of the Wolf Clan, Colonel A-nye-rih- aka Hanyery Tehowahwen'kar:kwen
- Cora Elm (1891-1949), American nurse in France during World War I
- Graham Greene, actor.
- Charlie Hill, comedian, entertainer.
- Laura "Minnie" Cornelius Kellogg, early 20th-century activist in Oneida land claims.
- Lillie Rosa Minoka Hill, 20th-century Mohawk physician; officially adopted by Oneida for her work with them for decades.
- Cody McCormick, Canadian professional ice hockey player for Colorado Avalanche.
- Chief Oskanondonha "John" Scanondoah (aka Skenando, Shenandoah), pine tree chief and leader during the American Revolution; ally of the Americans
- Joanne Shenandoah, award-winning singer and performer.
- Dennison Wheelock, composer, conductor and cornet soloist of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
- James Riley Wheelock, musician, conductor and clarinet soloist.
- Sarah "Tyonajanegen" Doxtator, fought in Battle of Oriskany alongside husband Han Yerry.
- Ray Halbritter, leader, Oneida Indian Nation, 1975-present.
- Nyla Rose, professional wrestler.
- Neilson Powless, professional cyclist (2020 Tour de France).
Portrait: Bread, Chief of the Oneidas, 1831, George Catlin, Smithsonian
Chief Daniel Bread and the Oneida Nation of Indians of Wisconsin
Laurence M. Hauptman, L. Gordon McLester
University of Oklahoma Press, 2002 - Biography & Autobiography - 213 pages