IROQUOIS

The Iroquois, or Iroquois League, was an American Indian confederacy made up of the Cayuga, Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, and Seneca—Iroquoianspeaking Eastern Woodlands tribes that had settled in the area of present-day New York, west of the Hudson River. The confederacy was formed sometime between the late 1300s and mid-1400s as the League of Five Nations. Member tribes agreed they would not undertake war without the agreement of the other tribes. Within the confederacy each nation had a role; the Mohawks, for example, were charged with defending the eastern end of Iroquois territory.

The Iroquois were mighty warriors. Other tribes either looked to the league for protection or viewed them as a menace. Among the Iroquois enemies were the Huron, a tribe in the Great Lakes region. As the French and British encroached on Indian lands, the bond among the Five Nations grew stronger. In 1722 a sixth tribe, the Tuscarora, joined the league, expanding its territories and its number. (Thereafter the confederacy is alternately known as the League of Six Nations.)

When fighting broke out in the colonies between the French and the British, the Iroquois sided with the British, in what would be known as the French and Indian War (1754–1763). Some historians view the Indian-British alliance as the critical factor in the British victory in the conflict. These historians promote the idea that had it not been for Iroquois involvement, North America would have been divided between the French and British.

When the American Revolution (1775–1783) began, the Iroquois split their loyalties: All tribes except the Oneida sided with the British. During the course of the war, Mohawk chief Thayendanegea, better known as Joseph Brant (1742–1807), led the Iroquois in many raids including the massacre at Cherry Valley, New York, in 1778. The following summer an American army marched through upstate New York, devastating Indian lands. After the war ended, most of the Iroquois were moved to lands in Ontario.