Tribe: The Oneida. They call themselves the "Onyota'aka." They are one of the Six Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy (or League) along with the Mohawk, the Seneca, the Onondaga, the Cayuga and the Tuscarora.
Meaning of Name: The name "Oneida" came from the English mispronunciation of the name, "Onyota'aka" which means "People of the Upright (or Standing) Stone." Tribal legends say that they came by this name when they were magically turned into standing, or upright, stones when they were pursued into the forest by their enemies.
Location: Originally from central New York near the Great Lakes, they also now live in Wisconsin and Ontario in Canada.
Original Language: Iroquoian.
Tribal Affiliations: The Mohawk, the Seneca, the Cayuga, the Onondaga and later, the Tuscarora. Also, the British and the Colonists, depending.
Traditional Enemies: The British and the Colonists, depending. Also, Wabanaki, Ojibwe, Mohican and Algonquin tribes.
Traditional Style of Housing: Longhouses, with stone hearths for cooking, baking and heating, and surrounded by palisades. For more detail, see the entries for the Mohawk or the Seneca.
Traditional Attire: Comfortable, loose-fitting yet durable buckskin or deerskin tunics, leggings and moccasins, and detachable fancifully-embroidered collars for the women, and breechcloths, leggings and moccasins for the men. The men also wore their hair in what is now considered the "Mohawk" fashion, or completely shaved except for a scalp-lock upon which they would put two upright eagle feathers and a third eagle feather trailing back, or they would wear feather-covered skullcaps ("gustoweh,") with two upright feathers with the third feather trailing back.
Traditional Foods: The Oneida women planted white corn, beans and squash, but otherwise, the Oneida ate seasonally, meaning, the Oneida gathered and ate whatever was in season, and either salted or dried the rest to be consumed off-season. In the Spring, the women gathered wild onions, ramps, milkweed, dandelion greens and harvested maple sap to transform into maple syrup while the men fished for trout, bullhead, sheephead, walleye, pike, bass and salmon. In the Summer, the Oneida women gathered strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, pears, plums, peaches, apples and grapes to be eaten or dried for later. During the Fall, the women gathered hickory nuts, black walnuts, butternuts, and chestnuts, and dried wild rice, while the men hunted for duck, raccoon, deer, elk and geese. And in the long cold hard New York Winters, they ate cornbread, stews and casseroles that were made of the corn, dried wild fruits and vegetables, the nuts, and the salted and dried fish and meats.
Position of Women: As with the other Iroquois tribes, the Oneida were matrilineal and matrilocal. Descent was reckoned through the mother's line, social status was passed through the mother's line, and the child was born into his or her mother's family and clan. These clans include the Wolf Clan (the Pathfinders and Advisors), the Turtle Clan (the Keepers of Knowledge and guardians of the Environment) and the Bear Clan (the healers and Keepers of Medicine.) Each clan is divided into three subdivisions. There are nine Clan Mothers of the Oneida who choose the nine chiefs to represent the Oneida before the Grand Council of the Iroquois Nations (the Haudenosaunee) and are part of the Representative branch of the Iroquois government.
In the case of the Oneida, all children were watched over by the entire tribe, and in the case of male children, their maternal uncle acted as their teachers, their male role models and mentors. If there was a divorce, since the women of the tribe owned everything both before and after the wedding, all that she had to do was put her husband's few things outside the door and he had to leave, or face the dire consequences.
In the past, and to a certain degree at present, Iroquois women enjoyed far more freedom than white women, black women or other Native American women. They knew, especially in the 19th Century, that if they became citizens of the United States, they stood to lose their legal right when it came to owning and disposing of their own property without having to ask their husbands' permission, inheriting and bequeathing property, moving freely without fear of harassment, divorcing their husbands, wearing comfortable clothes and shoes, voting freely in any election, having their voices heard and respected in any decision, being treated as first among equals, owning their own income and retaining the legal and physical custody of their own children, rights that they had enjoyed for the previous five hundred to eight hundred years.
Oneida Courtship: The best way for a nice young Oneida man to meet a nice young Oneida woman was at the Round Dance, the Rabbit Dance, the Old Moccasin Dance or the Canoe Fishing Dance. Once a young man found the woman of his dreams, he would play sweet flute music outside of her lodge. If she was agreeable, then she would let him know. At this time, he would go back to his grandmother's longhouse and discuss the matter with his mother, his grandmother, his father and his grandfather. If they agreed to the match, the parents would take a basket, probably full of food and goods, to the longhouse belonging to the grandmother of the object of his heart's desire. Then the mothers and grandmothers would discussed the match, probably with considerable input by the maiden in question, and less input by the fathers and the grandfathers. If there was a match, a big wedding would be planned, and the groom would go to live in the house of his grandmother-in-law, along with one of his brothers for moral support and company.
Interesting Tidbits: The Oneida used to be identified by their spirit name, the name of their clan, and their family unit within that clan. I have no examples of this, unfortunately, since most of them now have English or non-native names.... The Oneida were steadfastly neutral during the Revolutionary War, but many, who were influenced by Presbyterian missionaries and teachers, sided with the Colonists.... The Oneida, along with their Iroquois brothers, were given the first reservation in the new United States. It was originally 6,000,000 acres of prime New York real estate, which was later shrunk to 32 acres in subsequent treaties, which the Oneida had to share with the Onondaga.... The Oneida also have, along with their clans, men and women called "Faithkeepers," whose job it was to be custodian of the village council longhouse, to be the town crier and community organizer, and to schedule and run the communal activities.
Traditional Religion: Traditional tribal religion, Longhouse, Handsome Lake and Christianity.
Slavery and the Oneida: Since the Oneida were part of the Iroquois League, and the Constitution of the Iroquois League forbade slavery, the Oneida were against slavery. Some fought on the Union side in the Civil War while others participated in the Underground Railroad.
Current Population: There are over 15,000 registered Oneida living in New York, Wisconsin and Ontario in Canada.
Current Sources of Tribal Revenue: Restaurants, resorts, golf courses, casinos, automotive maintenance, media, marinas, gas stations, convenience stores, and car washes in New York. In Wisconsin, gambling, casinos.
Famous Oneidas: Graham Green, actor. Also, Polly Cooper, a Oneida woman who, with her kin, walked hundreds of miles through the frozen countryside to take 600 bushels of white corn to the starving and freezing soldiers at Valley Forge during the Revolutionary War. The soldiers wanted to eat it as is, but Polly stopped them and showed them how to prepare it cooked (probably mush, but it could also have been prepared as cornbread), and so saved them from bloating, severe stomach pain, and dying of starvation. (See Native American Recipes.) George Washington wanted to pay her for her corn and kindness, but Polly refused, saying that it was her honor to serve her country or words to that effect. Martha Washington later gifted her for her service with a bonnet and a fringed black silk shawl, which is still in the possession of the Cooper family.
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