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The Oneida Nation is part of the Iroquois Confederacy and has three clans: Bear, Tortoise, and Wolf. Their seal features a white pine tree and a red background. They lived in longhouses and traded with Europeans. There are conflicting accounts of their role in the Revolutionary War, but they signed the Treaty of Canandaigua in 1794. Some members moved to Canada and others to Wisconsin. Today, there are four Oneida tribes in New York, Wisconsin, and Ontario.
The Oneida Nation, also called “The People of the Standing Stone”, are an American Indian tribe that is part of the Iroquois Confederacy. Also included in the confederation are the Cayuga, Onondaga, Mohawk, and Tuscarora tribes. Within the Oneida nation, there are three clans: Bear, Tortoise, and Wolf.
A giant white pine is the symbol of the seal of the Oneida Nation. In the Oneida tradition, the white tree represents purity and its four roots extend in the four directions of the earth. The background of the Oneida sigil is red, representing blood lost in battles.
The Oneida Nation began in a region of present-day Oneida County, New York, south of Lake Oneida. These people were hunters and gatherers and lived in longhouses made of bark measuring 20 feet (6 m) wide and at least 100 feet (30.5 m) long. When European settlers began making contact with the Oneida tribes in the 1600s, the Oneidas sought to live peacefully with them, according to tribal history. Other historical accounts also indicate that the Oneida were conservative in their dealings with others, including their allies. They also traded with Europeans, often offering furs or skins for iron tools, brass cookware, and cloth.
There are conflicting accounts of the Oneida tribe’s relationship with settlers and its role in the Revolutionary War. A writer of the Jesuit Report of 1666-68 indicated that the Oneida were the cruellest people of the Iroquois tribe. The writings paint a picture of the Oneida as cruel, unreliable, and prone to strife. Other accounts also claim that the Oneida fought with other Indian tribes as well as settlers.
Other accounts indicate that the Oneidas were friends with Jesuit missionaries and the French. These accounts claim that it was other Iroquois who were enemies of the settlers. According to some accounts, the Oneidas were among those trying to break away from British control. Some Oneida warriors were used to scout British campaigns or operations. At the Battle of Oriskany in 1777, several dozen Oneidas fought alongside the settlers.
Other Oneidas were believed to have remained neutral during the Revolutionary War. Some even supported the British and went to Fort Niagara in New York where they lived under the British. After the war, the Oneidas were among a group of other nations that signed the Treaty of Canandaigua with the United States government in 1794. The treaty gave the Oneidas more than 5 million acres of land in New York. Later treaties greatly reduced that amount of land.
By the 1830s, some members of the Oneida tribe moved to Canada, settling near the Grand and Thames rivers in Ontario. Others re-established a new settlement near the original one at Oneida. In 1846, the Oneidas sold most of the land they owned in New York and moved some to Green Bay Wisconsin.
As of 2010, Oneida tribes included the Oneida Indian Nation in New York; the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin in the Green Bay area; the Oneida Nation of the Thames in Southwold, Ontario; and the Oneida at Six Nations in the Grand River, Ontario.
