History Written by The People! Oneida Nation (NY)
The Oneida Indian Nation is an indigenous nation of Native American people whose sacred and sovereign homelands are located in Central New York. TheNation was a key ally of the United States during the Revolutionary War, and it has been a cultural and economic anchor for the region. Through the diversified business enterprises it has successfully built in recent decades, the Oneida Indian Nation has become one of the largest employers in New York. It has also forged agreements with neighboring governments that have fortified the Nation’s sovereignty in perpetuity.
THE CLANS OF THE ONEIDA INDIAN NATION
Oneidas are a matrilineal society – clan and Nation Membership come from the mother. Each clan chooses representatives to the governing body, the Nation Council. According to tradition, male council members are responsible for daily decisions while Clan Mothers make long-term decisions. Tradition also requires Nation leaders and Members to consider the impact on the next seven generations when making decisions.
Turtle, Wolf or Bear – Nation members belong to one of three family clans.
BELIEFS & TRADITIONS
One of the founding members of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, the Oneidas have many beliefs and traditions that have stood the test of time – devotion to their homelands, commitment to collaboration and respect for the gifts of the Creator.
Early Oneidas traveled hundreds of miles to deliver corn to Washington’s starving troops at Valley Forge and marked agreements and pacts with a sacred substance known as wampum. Lessons passed along from Elders were respected, Polly Cooper was documented as a hero for her service and the arrival of the strawberry was celebrated.
Today’s Oneidas work diligently to preserve these traits, traditions and overall culture of their ancestors. They recognize and honor the wisdom, legends and lore that have led to the perseverance, determination and gratitude of today’s Oneidas and will in turn influence generations to come.
LEGENDS & LORE
Storytelling is an important component of the Oneida’s culture. These oral traditions and legends have been passed from generation to generation, teaching Oneidas how to live, act, and care for one another, as well as how to manage during the unpredictable seasons.
A majority of these stories took place in the familiar setting of the woods, featuring woodland creatures. Other tales told stories of little people, flying heads and the thunders. More than entertainment, these stories teach children the values of their culture, such as honesty and kindness.
The Legend of the Three Sisters
There are several legends surrounding the Three Sisters; indeed, almost every American Indian nation seems to have its own. The Cherokee legend involves three women who helped each other stay fed, hydrated and strong on the Trail of Tears, a lesson that the Cherokee used in planting their crops when they arrived in the Oklahoma Territory. Another legend describes three sisters who bickered constantly until their mother gave each of them an egg cooked in a different way and showed the sisters that, although the textures of the eggs were different, they were still eggs.
This is one version of the Haudenosaunee legend of the Three Sisters:
Very long ago, there were three sisters who lived in a field. The youngest was so small she could not yet walk; she crawled along the ground, dressed in green. The middle sister wore a bright yellow dress and darted back and forth across the field. The eldest sister stood tall and straight, and her body bent with the wind. She had long yellow hair and wore a green shawl. The three sisters loved one another very much and could not imagine living without the others.
One day a little Indian boy came to the field. He was very handsome and knew the ways of the land. He could talk with the birds and the animals and was straight and fearless. The three sisters were very interested in this boy as they watched him use his stone knife to carve a bowl or hunt with his bow and arrow.
Late in the summer of the boy’s first visit to the field, the youngest of the three sisters disappeared. She was the one who could only creep along the ground; she could not even stand unless there was a stick she could cling to. But she was gone, and the other two sisters mourned her until the fall.
The Indian boy returned to the field to gather reeds that grew at the edge of a small stream. He used the reeds to make arrow shafts. The two remaining sisters again watched him, fascinated. That night, the second sister disappeared, the one who always wandered hither and yon.
Now there was only one sister left, the tall and straight sister. She did not bow her head in sorrow, though she mourned deeply and thought she could not live in the field alone without her sisters. As the days grew shorter and colder, her green shawl began to lose its color and her yellow hair became dry and tangled. Night and day she sighed for her sisters, but her voice was low like the wind, and no one heard her.
One day in the harvest season, the little Indian boy heard the third sister crying, and he felt sorry for her. He took her in his arms and carried her to his home, and there a delightful surprise awaited her: Her sisters were there in the lodge, safe and very glad to be reunited. They explained that they had been curious about the little Indian boy and had followed him home, and they had decided to stay because winter was coming and his home was warm and comfortable.
The sisters also were making themselves useful to the boy and his family. The youngest, now all grown up, kept the dinner pot full, while the second sister, still in her yellow dress, dried herself on the shelf so she could fill the dinner pot later in the winter. The eldest sister was so pleased to be with her sisters again and so impressed with the help they gave the boy that she too began drying herself so the family would have meal to use as the winter went on. And from that day to this, the three sisters were never separated again.*
Today, the Nation is focused on reinvesting its revenues in initiatives to help guarantee a prosperous and sustainable future for its current members and for future generations. The Nation is headed by a federally recognized Representative, that person is Ray Halbritter. The Nation’s government makes sure its people can achieve their highest potential in education, have access to quality health care, and can secure their economic future. It is also dedicated to providing legal, administrative and educational services to help protect its people’s sovereignty, homelands, culture and job opportunities.
For decades, the Oneida Indian Nation has been one of the guardians of Indian Country’s unique and sacred heritage – and the work to protect that heritage continues today. Beyond its own facilities and programs in Central New York that promote American Indian language and culture, the Oneida people have taken a leadership role in supporting the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian and in supporting American Indian legal education. Additionally, the Oneida Indian Nation invests in the work of protecting American Indians’ political rights: most recently, it launched the “Change the Mascot” campaign that has fought anti-American Indian bigotry in professional sports.
This and more information can be found at http://www.oneidaindiannation.com
