BULL. 30] 



ONECHSAGERAT ^ONEIDA 



123 



tagnais, living in 1644 about 100 leagues 

 above "Saguene," Quebec. 



Ondoutaoiiaheronnon.— Jes. Rel. 1G44, 99, 1868. On- 

 doutaouaka.— Ibid., 1642, 10, 1858. 



Onechsagerat. The "old chief" of 

 Cayuga, mentioned by Cammerhoff in 

 1750. He was also styled Teiyughsara- 

 garat, the principal chief, when lie re- 

 ceived Sir Wm. Johnson's belts and went 

 to Canada in 1756. Weiser called him 

 Oyeaghseragearat in 1754, and Oyuch- 

 seragarat in 1752. His name appears 

 in 1762 and 1774, the latter year at 

 Onondaga, in November, when "a Cay- 

 uga chief named Oy eghseragearat spoke. ' ' 

 This may possibly have been a young- 

 er man. (w. m. b. ) 



Oneida (Anglicized compressed form of 

 the common Iroquois term tiio)HTi^iote' , 

 ' there it it- rock has-set-up (continu- 

 ative),' i. e. a rock that something set up 

 and is still standing, referring to a large 

 sienite bowlder near the site of one of 

 their ancient villages). A tribe of the 

 Iroquois confederation, formerly occu- 

 pying the country s. of Oneida lake, 

 Oneida co., N. Y., and latterly including 

 the upper waters of the Suscjuehanna. 

 According to authentic tradition, the 

 Oneida was the second tribe to accejit the 

 proposition of Dekanawida and Hiawatha 

 to form a defensive and offensive league 

 of all the tribes of men for the promotion 

 of mutual welfare and security. In the 

 federal council and in other federal as- 

 semblies they have the right to represen- 

 tation by 9 federal chieftains of the highest 

 rank. Like the Mohawk, the Oneida 

 have only 3 clans, the Turtle, the Wolf, 

 and the Bear, each clan being represented 

 by 3 of the 9 federal representatives of 

 this tribe (see Clan and Gens). Insofar as 

 eldership as a member of a clan phratry 

 can give precedence in roll-call and the 

 right to discuss first in order all matters 

 coming before its side of the council fire, 

 the Oneida are the dominant tribe within 

 the tribal jjhratry, called the Four (origi- 

 nally Two) Brothers and "Offspring," 

 to which they l)elong. In tribal assem- 

 blies the Turtle and the Wolf constitute 

 a clan phratry, and the Bear another. 

 The Oneida have usually been a conserva- 

 tive people in their dealing with their 

 allies and with other peoples. In 1635 

 they, with the Onondaga, Cayuga, and 

 Mohawk, sought to become parties to the 

 peace concluded in the preceding year 

 between the Seneca and the Hurons. At 

 this period they were called sedentary 

 and very populous, but only from Indian 

 reports. 



The Jesuit Relation for 1646 (p. 3,1858) 

 says that with the exception of the Mo- 

 hawk there was no treaty, properly 

 speaking, then in existence between the 

 Iroquois tribes inclusive of the Oneida and 

 the French. From the same Relation it 



is learned that "Onnieoute" (Oneniote), 

 the principal Oneida village of that time, 

 having lost the greater portion of its men 

 in a war with the "upper Algonquin," 

 was compelled to request the Mohawk 

 to lend aid in repeopling the village by 

 granting thereto a colony of men, and that 

 it was for this reason that the Mohawk 

 ceremonially and publicly call the Oneida 

 their daughter or son. This story is 

 probably due to a misconception of the 

 fictitious political kinships and relation- 

 ships established between the several 

 tribes at the time of the institution and 

 organization of the League (see Confedera- 

 tion) . The Cayuga and the Tuscarora are 

 likewise called "Offspring," but not for 

 the reason above given. Tlie Jesuit Rela- 

 tion for 1648 (p. 46) first definitely locates 

 the Oneida. From the Relation for 1641 

 (p. 74) it is gathered that the Jesuit 

 fathers had leaincd tliat tlie Oneida had 



Henry Powliss (wastheelgo, "Throwing up Pins" ), an Oneioa 



a i^eculiar form of government in which 

 the rulership alternated between the two 

 sexes. This statement is likewise apjiar- 

 ently due to a misconception of the fact 

 that among Iroquoistribes the titles to the 

 chiefships belonged to the women of cer- 

 tain clans in the tribe and not to the men, 

 although men were chosen by the women 

 to exercise the rights and privileges and 

 to perform the duties jiertaining to these 

 chiefships, and that there were, and indeed 

 still are, a num))er of women filling federal 

 chiefships bearing the name of the 

 highest class. These women chieftains 

 have approximately the same rights, priv- 

 ileges, and innnunities as the men chiefs, 

 but exercise them fully only in emergen- 

 cies; they, too, maintain the institutions 

 of society and government among the 

 women. 



The Jesuit Relation for 1667 (lii, 145, 

 1899) declares that the Oneida were at 



