Native Americans #2

 

I have arbitrarily designated this unit as being from the Oneida tribe of the Iroquois Confederacy. 

The Oneida supported the Colonies during the Revolutionary War, unlike most of the rest of the Six Nations of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois). 

The Hiawatha (Hayewate) Belt; Wampum (made from white and purple clamshell beads) were used to commemorate important events and principles. This one represents the Confederacy: To the far left (East) the smaller rep[resents the Mohawk Nation, "Keepers of the Eastern Door", then the larger square represents the Oneida nation to the left, in the Center, the pine tree represents the Onondaga Nation, where the Council Fire burns, and where the Great Tree of Peace is firmly rooted in the heart of the Confederacy, then to its left is the square representing the Cayuga Nation, and finally the sqaure of the Seneca Nation, "Keepers of the Western Door". 

During the Revolution, both sides sought the alliance, or at least the neutrality, of the Confederation.

The Oneida Belt, dating from shortly after the American Revolutionary War - the six squares present the nations of the confederacy, each with its own Council Fire (the diamond in the center); the 6th, farthest left square, represents the latest addition to the Confederacy, the Tuscarora Nation. 

Oneida, New York (the small city) is famous for high quality Silverware, and for a Free Love community started in the 1830's by John Humphrey Noyes.

The Oneida Community House. This 93,000 square foot mansion was the residence of the Community, which was one of the longest existing Utopian communities in the US. It was economically successful, with members rotating various jobs un restricted by gender. The community later used stock within its membership, and owned the famous silverware company. An outcast member shot President James Garfield in 1881, who died of his wounds 2 months later, accelerating the decline of the community. 

I have once again, arbitrarily, assigned this unit to be Cayuga warriors. 

The territory of the Cayuga, "People of the Great Swamp", was centered around Cayuga Lake (which we have visited extensively, returning again this past October).

As previously noted, "Haudenosaunee", the Iroquois name for themselves, means "People of the Longhouse"

Artists rendition of a longhouse village.

A modern reconstruction of a longhouse village

Interior of a reconstructed longhouse

Artifacts of Cayuga settlements have been found in multiple areas around Cayuga lake. 

The Cayuga, like most Indian Nations, were displaced from their ancestral lands, and only re-established some territory in the Finger Lakes region of New York this century.