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The Cayuga Nation, a Native American tribe, lived in the Finger Lakes area of New York and were part of the Iroquois Confederacy. They were divided into five clans, with women choosing the clan chief and making decisions about land and resources. The tribe was known for farming, hunting, and playing lacrosse. During the Revolutionary War, they supported the British and were later involved in lawsuits to establish a reservation in New York. Most Cayugas now live on reservations in Canada, New York, Wisconsin, and Oklahoma.
The Cayuga Nation is a Native American tribe originally located in the Finger Lakes area of New York. The Cayugas, whose name means “people of the great swamp”, were the smallest of the six tribes that made up the Iroquois Confederacy and were known as the Young Brothers. Like other members of the Confederacy, they lived in villages consisting of wooden longhouses that housed multiple families.
The Cayuga Nation was divided into five clans; the tortoise, the wolf, the bear, the snipe and the heron. The clans were matrilineal, meaning that a child was a member of his mother’s clan, and each clan had a clan mother who was responsible for the welfare of her members. Clan membership was for life, and a married man retained his birth clan membership. The women of the clan chose the clan chief and the Clan Mothers had the power to remove a chief if he was not performing his duties. Women also made decisions about the use of tribal land and resources and chose Cayuga representatives to the Iroquois Council.
While women chose the leadership of the Cayuga Nation, only men served as tribal leaders and representatives. Men elected war leaders and made military and commercial decisions. The Cayuga were farmers and hunters, famous for their ornate masks, beads and feathers. Tribe members enjoyed playing lacrosse, throwing darts through a spinning hoop, wrestling, and gambling. The tribe celebrated the same four lunar festivals shared by other Iroquois members; the Strawberry Ceremony, the Green Corn Ceremony, the Harvest Ceremony, and the Midwinter Ceremony.
Cayuga men wore breeches, leggings, and a feathered hat called a gustoweh that bore tribal insignia. They occasionally tattooed themselves with tribal emblems. During wartime, men cut all but a central section of their hair, in the style still known as the Mohawk. Women did not use tattoos and only cut their hair as a sign of mourning.
When the Revolutionary War broke out, the Cayuga Nation was one of four tribes in the Iroquois Confederacy that supported the British. Once the war was over, American troops were sent to New York to drive the Iroquois nations who had opposed them from the New York area. Most of the Cayuga moved to Canada with other members of the Confederacy, while some joined tribes such as the Seneca in Ohio. Some stayed in New York to negotiate with President Washington and were part of the Treaty of Canandaigua signed by the United States and the Six Nations.
The treaty gave member countries the right to a large reserve in the state of New York. The state, however, did not want to honor the treaty with tribes that had been adversaries. The Cayuga Nation has been involved in lawsuits against the United States and New York State for over 200 years to establish a reservation in New York. Instead of simply waiting for a victory, the Cayuga Nation began buying land to hold for the tribe.
Most of the Cayuga Nation live on reservations shared with other tribes. The largest segment is found in Ontario, Canada on the Six Nations Reserve and the Grand River Reserve. The Cayugas that have remained in the United States are mostly found on reservations in New York, Wisconsin, and Oklahoma.
