Oneida People

Oneida People

The Oneida (Onę˙yóteˀ or Onayotekaono, meaning "the People of the Upright Stone, or standing stone", Thwahrù·nęʼ in Tuscarora) are a Native American/First Nations people; they are one of the five founding nations of the Iroquois Confederacy in the area of upstate New York. The Iroquois call themselves Haudenosaunee ("The people of the longhouses") in reference to their communal lifestyle and the construction of their dwellings.

Historically the Oneida were believed to have emerged as a tribe in the 14th century; they inhabited approximately 6 million acres (24,000 km²) of the area that later became central New York, particularly around Oneida Lake and Oneida and Madison counties. The Great Swamp south of the lake was an important wetlands area with a rich habitat. After the American Revolutionary War, they were forced to cede all but 300,000 acres, and were later forced to cede more. Under federal and state pressure, many Oneida resettled in Wisconsin in the early 1800s. Others who had allied with the British had already migrated to Canada.

In the 21st century, the Oneida have four federally recognized, independent tribes groups with their own governments in New York and Wisconsin (following 19th-century forced removal by the United States), as well as Ontario, Canada. In the late twentieth century, three tribes filed land claim suits against New York State because of its unauthorized taking of land after the American Revolutionary War in a treaty that was never ratified by the United States Senate. The United States Supreme Court ruled that New York's action was unconstitutional, but settlement or compensation has not been determined.