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 Oñgwanonsioñni, "we are of the extended lodge." When they first came into contact with Europeans, they occupied the country between 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: F 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. Ch 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. Hd Destroy mission at Three Rivers, 43; in general alliance with British, 148; country of, pillaged by Butler's Rangers, 151. WM Traditional foes of the French, 16. L 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. Bk 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 Régime, Jesuits in North America, Frontenac, and Half Century of Conflict; Fiske, New France and New England.