Oneida Tribe: People of the Standing Stone

The Oneida tribes, peaceful people and lovers of nature have drasticlly decreased over a short amount of time. Thier is an estimate of twenty-two Oneidas left.

The Oneida, also known as People of the Standing Stone once lived in upstate New York. Ever since we forced them to move out most of them live in Wisconsin and Ontario, Canada. The Oneidas are Iroquois people also known as Kanonsionni which means "League of Clans."The women mainly mothers would choose who would be the leaders of the village. Like most Native Americans the Oneidas have reservations. Their are two Oneida tribes. One in New York and the other in Wisconson.

Oneida children would play and have fun just as kids would do today.With the exception of video games ofcourse! They would also go to school and do chores,too. A common sport the Oneidas play was Lacrosse. Girls also had dolls and would throw darts through a moving hoop. Oneida fashion was...well...colorful. They wore headresses with feathers, colorful threaded moccasins, and decorated their faces and body with tribal tattoos. Some Oneida women even wore some type of tiaras. Oneida tribes where known for mask carving when it came to art. They would also do beadwork and make wampum. The most important instruments of the Oneida are the drums and flute. Flutes were normally used by boys to woo their girlfriend.
The Oneida men used bows and arrows to hunt.They would also use fishing spears to fish. When in war they would use bow and arrows, spears, clubs, and sheilds. Other tools included stones and adzes which where wooden axes, knife for skining animals,and woden hoes mainly for farming. The Oneidas would steam wood so they can bent it and make tools out of it. Some Oneida still make lacrosse sticks like this today.

The Oneida tribe have been through many hardships. For instance during the American Revolution the Oneidas had to choose a side. The Oneidas actually chose aganist the Irouquis Confederancy. It was ether fight aganist the Irouquis and get land, or fight for the Irouquis and don't get as much land.However both of the options where not the case. During the 1794 Treaty of Canadaigua the Native Americans where granted 6million acres of land mostly in New York an this was the first reservation in the United States. But this number was horribly reduced to 32 acres of land.

The Oneidas are wonderful people and deserve to be recognized for more of the things they have done.And that is my report on the Oneida tribe.

The Websites I used where:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oneida_Indians

http://www.bigorrin.org/oneida_kids.htm