Continued from last week

Reprinted with permission from Polishing the Silver Covenant Chain

The Haudenosaunee are actually six separate nations of people who have agreed to live under the Great Law of Peace. They are as follows:

Mohawk Nation

The Mohawk Nation originally resided in the rich Mohawk Valley and enjoyed a vast territory that stretched from the Catskills to the Adirondack Mountains. Known as the People of the Flint, they were the first to greet the white traders, missionaries and settlers. It was the villages of the Mohawk Nation, complete with long bark-covered houses, circular palisades and guard towers that were called “castles” by the Europeans. These “Indian castles” could hold several thousand people, surrounded by vast fields of corn, beans and squash.

The Council of the Mohawks are divided as follows. There are three major clans: Wolf, Turtle, and Bear. Three Sachems or Chiefs represent each clan for a total of nine Chiefs on the Council.

Oneida Nation

The Oneidas are the People of the Standing Stone, so named because of a large stone that was placed in the fork of a tree near the entrance to their villages long ago. One of three

“Younger Brothers” of the Haudenosaunee along with the Cayuga and Tuscarora

Nations, the Oneida Nation has struggled to retain their identity and homeland. The traditional Oneidas retain a foothold in their aboriginal lands in Oneida, NY, although the majority of Oneidas live in either Ontario or Wisconsin.

The Council of the Oneidas is divided as follows. There are three major clans: Wolf, Turtle, and Bear. Three Sachems or Chiefs represent each clan for a total of nine Chiefs on the Council.

Onondaga Nation

The Onondaga Nation is located in the center of Haudenosaunee territory. They call themselves People of the Hills due to the beautiful hillsides that surround their homes in central New York. Located south of the city of Syracuse, New York the Onondaga Nation is the regular host of the Grand Council of the Haudenosaunee. They are referred to as the Keepers of the Central Fire and still maintain the spiritual and political fires within the hearts and minds of the Haudenosaunee people everywhere. As the keepers of the Central Fire, the Onondaga Nation selects the Tadodaho, the only chief who belongs to all of the Haudenosaunee.

The Council of the Onondagas is divided as follows. There are eight clans: Deer, Eel, Wolf, Hawk, Heron, Snipe, Turtle, and Beaver and a total of fourteen Sachems or Chiefs on the Council.

Cayuga Nation

The Cayuga Nation are the People of the Great Swamp, whose aboriginal territory was in central New York near the Montezuma Swamp. The Cayuga villages were also situated along the Finger Lakes. The Cayuga Nation has suffered illegal taking of their lands over the last two hundred years, to the point where they lost all of their land and had to relocate.

The Council of the Cayuga’s is divided as follows. There are five clans: Bear, Heron, Sandpiper, Turtle and Wolf and a total of ten Sachems or Chiefs on the Council.

Tuscarora Nation

Originally from North Carolina, the Tuscarora Nation became a part of the Haudenosaunee in the second decade of the 18th century after many of their ancestors were driven from their homelands by the English. They were given land next to the Oneidas from which they were compelled to leave after the Revolution. The Seneca Nation then provided some land upon which their current territory has been established near Niagara Falls, New York.

The Council of the Tuscaroras are divided as follows. There are eight clans: Turtle, Wolf,

Bear, Beaver, Snipe, Eel, Sand turtle and Deer and a total of fourteen Sachems or Chiefs on the Council.

Seneca Nation

Tradition tells of the emergence of the Seneca people from a hill near Rochester, NY. Four primary Seneca villages of the past were located along the Genesee River Valley. At one point, the Senecas held domain over all the lands within New York State west of Seneca Lake, as well as lands in Pennsylvania and Ohio. Today, there are three Seneca communities with two distinct Seneca governments. The Tonawanda Seneca Nation still retains their position as the Western Door Keeper for the Haudenosaunee.

The Council of the Tonawanda is divided as follows. There are eight clans: Turtle, Wolf,

Bear, Beaver, Snipe, Hawk, Heron, Deer and a total of eight Sachems or Chiefs on the Council.