Cayuga

Cayuga
Total population
unknown
Regions with significant populations
Canada (Ontario)  United States (New York)
Languages
English, Cayuga
Religions
Christianity, others
Related ethnic groups
other Iroquoian peoples

The Cayuga were members of a powerful confederacy of tribes of the Iroquois Nation (also and more properly called Haudenosaunee). The confederacy was formed around 1570 of the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, and the Senecas. A sixth tribe, the Tuscarora, joined later after the confederacy was formed. The powerful assistance and oral skills of a Mohawk wiseman, Hiawatha, and the prophet, Deganawida, known as the Great Peacemaker, initiated the development of this united group of tribes based on peaceful practices and ethical laws. Hiawatha went from tribe to tribe speaking for Deganawida who had a speech impediment. Scholars write that a "Clan Mother", Jigonsaseh, was also a co-founder of the Confederacy. The writers of the American Constitution were strongly influenced by their document called The Great Binding Law, Gayanashagowa, which was the Constitution of the Iroquois Nations. The Cayuga sided with the British during the American Revolution and most moved to Canada when the British were defeated. Some remain in New York State, while others are scattered in other areas of the United States. The Cayuga and Seneca united together in the United States in 1937.

Introduction

File:CayugaLake.jpg

Winter view of the southern end of Cayuga Lake

The Cayuga nation (Guyohkohnyo or the People of the Great Swamp) was one of the five original constituents of the Iroquois, a confederacy of Indians in New York. A current spelling of the Cayuga name for "Cayuga" is Gayogohó:no’. The Cayuga homeland lay in the Finger Lakes region, on the land bordering Lake Cayuga, between their league neighbors, the Onondaga and the Seneca.

The Cayuga sided with the British during the American Revolution and, after many attacks on American colonists, the punitive Sullivan Expedition devastated the Cayuga homeland, destroying major Cayuga villages such as Cayuga Castle and Chonodote (Peachtown). Survivors fled to other Iroquois (Haudenosaunee) tribes or to Ontario, Canada where they were granted land by the British in recognition of their loyalty to the Crown.

On November 11, 1794, the (New York) Cayuga (along with the other Haudenosaunee tribes) signed the Treaty of Canandaigua with the United States.

History

The original five Iroquois tribes were united between 1450 and 1600 by a Mohawk statesman, Hiawatha, and religious leader, Deganawida. The tribes that united were Cayuga, Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, and Seneca. The purpose for the uniting was to end the inter-tribal wars and bring peace and well-being to all of the tribes.

The Cayuga, as well as other Iroquois tribes, met white explorers in the sixteenth century. They became involved in fur trade with the French during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The Cayuga went to war over trapping territories as far south as Virginia. During the American Revolutionary War, the alliance split loyalty between the British and anti-British factions. Most Cayuga sided with the English. After the British defeat many Cayuga moved to Canada where they were given land in recognition of their loyalty to the Crown.

On November 11, 1794, the (New York) Cayuga Nation (along with the other Haudenosaunee nations) signed the Treaty of Canandaigua with the United States. The treaty established peace and friendship between the United States of America and the Six Nations of the Iroquois (Haudenosaunee), and affirmed Haudenosaunee land rights in New York State.

By 1807, all Cayuga land in the U.S. was sold. Some New York Cayuga moved to Ohio in the early 1800s. Later, they were moved to Wisconsin and Oklahoma. The Seneca and Cayuga incorporated together in 1937 under Oklahoma law.

Culture

Religion

According to Cayuga tradition, a supreme creator, Orenda, was recognized in the festivals held for harvest, maple sap, strawberries, and corn. An eight day event in midwinter was held to forgive past wrongs.

In the early nineteenth century the teachings of Handsome Lake became popular among Cayuga. Handsome Lake was a Seneca who taught about Jesus and also blended the traditional celebrations with Christian-style confessions of sin and urged Native Americans to stay away from alcohol. His teachings eventually were incorporated into the Longhouse religion, which continues to have followers today.

Government

There were 50 chiefs (Sachems) of the Iroquois League. All the chiefs were men. The Cayuga sent ten men to the great council each fall. The Great Pipe was the symbol of their gathering. The Cayuga belonged to the "younger brother" division. There was a chief or headman in each village. The decision at all levels was based on consensus which included women, who could act as regents.

"The creators of the U.S. government used the Iroquois League as a model of democracy." The Constitution of the Iroquois Nation was titled, The Great Binding Law, Gayanashagowa. It opens with this line: " I am Dekanawidah and with the Five Nations Confederate Lords I plant the Tree of Great Peace. I plant it in your territory, Adodarhoh, and the Onondaga Nation, in the territory of you who are Firekeepers.'

Customs

There were nine known clans of Cayuga composed of matrilineal, animal named family groups. Women enjoyed a high level of prestige and were in charge of village events including marriage. Sports included gambling.

Shamans cured with a variety of medicinal plants including tobacco. The dead were placed in sitting position with tools and food for the afterlife. Suicide was a method of addressing loss of status or honor.

The Cayuga Nation today

Today, there are three Cayuga bands. The two largest, the Lower Cayuga and Upper Cayuga, still live in Ontario, both at Six Nations of the Grand River. Only a small number remain in the United States - the Cayuga Indian Nation of New York in Versailles, New York State.

The Cayuga Indian Nation of New York currently does not have a reservation of its own and its members live among those of the Seneca nation. In 2005 the Cayuga purchased approximately 130 acres of land on the open market in Cayuga County, New York and Seneca County, New York. Shortly after the purchase of this land the Cayuga applied to the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs to have it taken into trust. The State of New York opposed this application asserting that the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs lacks the authority to take the land into trust under the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934.

The symbol of the Iroquois nation is found in the reemergence of "Hiawatha's Belt." "In modern times, what was once a wampum belt, now is reborn as a flag. Seen both in Canada and the United States, the blue flag bearing the symbol of the unity of the five nations has become a rallying symbol for Iroquois of all tribes."

Property Rights Claims

On November 19, 1980 in the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York the Cayuga Indian Nation of New York commenced an action to reclaim land that allegedly was taken from it without the approval of the United States. In 1981, the Seneca-Cayuga Tribe of Oklahoma was added as a plaintiff in the claim.

The jury returned a verdict in favor of the Cayuga Indian Nation of New York and the Seneca-Cayuga Tribe of Oklahoma finding current fair market value damages of $35 million and total fair rental value damages of $3.5 million. The jury gave the State a credit for the payments it had made to the Cayugas, of about $1.6 million, leaving the total damages at this stage at approximately $36.9 million. On October 2, 2001 the court issued a decision and order which awarded a prejudgment interest award of $211 million and a total award of $247.9 million. Both the plaintiffs and the defendants appealed this award and on June 28, 2005 the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit rendered a decision that reversed the judgment of the trial court and entered a judgment in favor of the defendants.. The Cayuga Indian Nation of New York sought review of this decision by the Supreme Court of the United States which was denied on May 15, 2006. The time for the Cayuga Indian Nation to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to rehear the case passed. As a result, the Cayuga Indian Nation land claim is officially over.

Population

The total number of Iroquois (Haudenosaunee) today is hard to establish. About 45,000 Iroquois lived in Canada in 1995. In the 2000 census, 80,822 people in the United States claimed Iroquois ethnicity, with 45,217 of them claiming only Iroquois background. However, tribal registrations in the United States in 1995 numbered about 30,000 in total. The Cayuga of New York State make up less than 500 of this total.

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Snow,D. and Keliata, A., 1996. The Iroquois (The Peoples of America Series). UK:Blackwell Pubishers. ISBN 1-55786-225-7
• Tehanetorens, Fadden, R., 1998. Legends of the Iroquois, TN:Book Publishers Co. ISBN 1-57067-056-02
• Suttle, W. and Lane, B. 1990. The Handbook of North American Indians, Washington; Smithsonian Institute. ISBN 10:0160203902

External links

• Cayuga Nation Retrieved August 21, 2007.
• How the Sullivan-Clinton Campaign Dispossessed the Cayuga Retrieved on August 21, 2007.
• Cayuga Indian Fact Sheet Retrieved on August 21, 2007.
• Cayuga Indian Tribe History Retrieved August 21, 2007.

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