Forgotten Allies

Forgotten Allies

The Oneida Indians were part of the Six Nations during the times of peace and the Revolutionary War.   These peoples turned out to have a large impact in the war efforts against the British to gain American independence.   They acted as scouts, guides, and raiders throughout the war.   From before the war, during the war, and after the war these Natives began to lose their lands to European settlers coming to America.   Alcohol, raids, and bad treaties lead to the Oneidas land being destroyed and overtaken.
Before the Revolutionary War the Six Nations were generally at peace with one another.   The Oneidas, Mohawks, Cayugas, Tuscaroras, Senecas, and Onondagas lived together in New York State.   Sometimes they even lived in the same villages with one another.   During the times of French and British expansion into America the Indians tried to remain neutralists which they did for the most part.   The Iroquois “donated the Great Lakes regions” to “establish their neutrality” to the British (41).   The Iroquois did however “retain the right to hunt and trap in the region” (41).   Some did claim to be Pro-British and Pro-French and these Indians did have some impact in the war between these two countries.  
As the European settlers began to move westward into the Mohawk Valley in search of new lands in which to live and farm, they began “encroaching” on Indian territories (47).   The “Mohawks petitioned the Oneidas, asking if they could relocate” onto their lands to escapes from the settlers (48).   With the European Americans moving into the Iroquois Nation the settlers frequently hunted on Iroquois land consuming the game found in its woods.   Travelers passing through the land also consumed some of the game in that region.   With all of these people hunting on Iroquois lands “Famines seemed to be occurring with greater frequency” (54).
The Oneidas at Oquaga began to aid the nearby colonists and the colonists them.   The colonists were at the request...