Onondaga people
The Onondaga people (Onontaerrhonon, Onondaga: Onoñda’gegá’’, "People of the Hills") are one of the five original nations of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy in the Northeastern Woodlands. Their historical homelands are in and around present-day Onondaga County, New York, south of Lake Ontario.
For other uses, see Onondaga (disambiguation).
Being centrally located, they are considered the "Keepers of the Fire" (Kayečisnakwe’nì·yu[3] in Tuscarora) in the figurative longhouse that shelters the Five Nations. The Cayuga and Seneca have territory 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 the traditional chiefs do today.
In the United States, the home of the Onondaga Nation is the Onondaga Reservation. Onondaga people also live near Brantford, Ontario on Six Nations territory. This reserve used to be Haudenosaunee hunting grounds, but much of the Confederacy relocated there as a result of the American Revolution. Although the British promised the security of Haudenosaunee homelands, the 1783 treaty of Paris ceded the territory over to the United States.[4]
Prestige factors[edit]
The Onondaga Nation was crucial in forming the Iroquois League which led them to be very well revered by their peers. The "Tree of Peace" was planted on Onondaga Land.[14] Onondaga has been regarded as the capital of Iroquois land. The Onondaga were known as the Central Fire-Keepers of the Confederacy.[14] The Onondaga were known as the guardians or watchkeepers of the league. They were keepers of the law in order to preserve traditions and institutions.[14] The culture hero Hyenwatha was an Onondaga Indian and was essential in the early organization of the league.[14] The title of Tadodaho was always held by an Onondaga chief; he was to be the chief arbitrator of the Lords of the Confederacy.[14] The Onondaga maintained the largest number chieftainship titles as well as the largest number of clans among the Iroquois.[14] Handsome Lake, the Seneca half-brother of Cornplanter and author of his eponymous Code, died at Onondaga.[14]
Some factors that defined pre-colonial Onondaga life were:
Government[edit]
Clan System[edit]
The Onondaga in New York have a traditional matriachal form of government, wherein chiefs are nominated by clan mothers, rather than elected. One's clan is determined by their matrilineal lineage, meaning that clan membership is inherited from the mother. Membership in the Onondaga is also exclusively inherited matrilineally. The clan system extends throughout the Haudenosaunee, and clan members from other nations are considered family.[18] In total there are nine clans:
Sports[edit]
The Onondaga very much enjoyed sports and physical activity. Lacrosse and foot races were always known to be favorites of the Onondaga people.[22] They also adopted many games from European settlers such as mumble the peg, marbles, some games of ball, pull away, and fox and geese in the snow.[22] Hide and seek and blindmanbajj's bluff were played but no games with song.[22]