Iroquois
A confederation of tribes, at first five, the Cayuga,
Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, and Seneca, to which the Tuscarora was added
after 1726, as well as the remnants of many other tribes. They were
known to the English colonists as the Five Nations, and later as the Six
Nations. They called themselves Ongwanonsionni, "we are of the
extended lodge." When they first came into contact with Europeans, they
occupied the country
etween Lake Champlain and the Genesee River, and
this remained their home territory, but they ranged far and wide,
carrying their conquering raids eastwards to the Kennebec, westwards to
Lake Michigan, north to the Hudson Bay watershed, and south to the
Tennessee. They numbered about 16,000 in 1677, and after dropping to
10,000 in the next century, they returned to their original strength at
the opening of the twentieth century. About two-thirds are on
reservations in Canada; the remainder in New York. =Index=: (Count Frontenac era)
Champlain joins Hurons and Algonquians in attacking, 9, 10, 14; nearly
exterminate Hurons, 26, 35; demand establishment of French colony in
their country, 40; their confederacy, of what tribes composed, 41;
attack remnant of Hurons on Island of Orleans, 41; checked at Long Sault
on the Ottawa by heroism of Dollard and his companions, 44; Governor
Courcelles marches against, 52; similar expedition led by Tracy, 53;
invited by Frontenac to conference, 79; consent to make a peace
including Indian allies of French, 82; under La Barre's administration,
seize canoes of French traders, 181; La Barre's expedition against, 183;
Denonville's, 207-214; capture of a number of peaceful Iroquois for
king's galleys, 215; reprisals, 218, 219; massacre of Lachine, 224; send
envoys to meet Frontenac, 238; native eloquence, 239; worsted in
skirmish on Ottawa River, 243; Mohawk opinion of Schenectady massacre,
248; ill-treat embassy from Frontenac, 262; renew their attacks, 307;
party of, destroyed at Repentigny, 308; three prisoners burnt alive,
309; another party surprised and destroyed, 319; expedition against
(Mohawks), 321; peace negotiations, 337; Onondaga orator, Teganissorens
(Decanisora), 338; Frontenac's campaign against, 350. (Samuel de Champlain era) Champlain
assists his Indian allies against, 49; originally settled on the St.
Lawrence, 50; form great confederation of five tribes, 50; attacked by
Montaignais, assisted by Champlain, near mouth of Richelieu River, 62;
again, by Hurons, assisted by Champlain, on the Oswego River, 102; make
an attack near Quebec, 139; embassy sent to, 163. (Sir Frederick Haldimand era) Destroy mission
at Three Rivers, 43; in general alliance with British, 148; country of,
pillaged by Butler's Rangers, 151. (Wolfe / Montcalm era) Traditional foes of the French,
16. (Bishop Laval era) Destroy Huron mission, 5; converted settlements of, 9; their
extermination of the Hurons, 39; heroic resistance offered to, at the
Long Sault, 72; depredations committed by, 191; La Barre's expedition
against, 193; threatening attitude of, 213; Denonville's expedition
against, 215; negotiations with, 216; descend on Lachine, 225; ravage
surrounding country, 227; Frontenac marches against, 233. (General Brock era) Their
lands encroached upon by Americans, 149; attacked by United States
troops at Tippecanoe, 174-176; their bitter sense of wrong, 177; obtain
grant of land on the Grand River, 189; effect on, of Hull's advance
into Canada, 214; greatly impressed by the capture of Detroit, 263.
See Senecas; Mohawks; Onondagas; Cayugas; Oneidas. =Bib.=: Hodge,
Handbook of American Indians; Schoolcraft, Indian Tribes; Morgan,
League of the Iroquois; Colden, History of the Five Nations;
McKenzie, The Six Nations Indians in Canada; Hale, Iroquois Book of
Rites; Parkman, Old Regime, Jesuits in North America, Frontenac,
and Half Century of Conflict; Fiske, New France and New England.