Onondaga Indian Tribes

Onondaga (Onoñtǎ’′ge‘,'on, or on top of, the hill or mountain'). An important tribe of the Iroquois confederation, formerly living on the mountain, lake, and creek bearing their name, in the present Onondaga county, N. Y., and extending northward to Lake Ontario and southward perhaps to the waters of the Susquehanna. In the Iroquois councils they are known as Hodiseñnageta, 'they (are) the name bearers.' Their principal village, also the capital of the confederation, was called Onondaga, later Onondaga Castle; it was situated from before 1654 to 1681 on Indian hill, in the present town of Pompey, and in 1677 contained 140 cabins. It was removed to Butternut creek, where the fort was burned in 1696. In 1720 it was again removed to Onondaga creek, and their present reserve is in that valley, a few miles south of the lake (Beauchamp, inf'n, 1907).
The Onondaga of Grand River reservation, Canada, have 9 clans, namely:
Wolf,
Tortoise (Turtle?),
Bear,
Deer,
Eel,
Beaver,
Ball,
Plover and
Pigeonhawk. 

Early in Jan. 1648 the Hurons decided to send another embassy to Onondaga. They sent 6 men, accompanied by one of the 3 Onondaga ambassadors then in their country, the other two, including Skanawati, the head of the Onondaga embassy, remaining as hostages. But unfortunately the new Huron embassy was captured and killed by a force of 100 Mohawk and Seneca who had come to the borders of the Huron country. The Onondaga accompanying this embassy was spared, and two Hurons escaped. Early in April, when the distressing news reached the ears of that, after they had regained somewhat Skanawati, the proud Onondaga ambassador remaining with the Hurons as a hostage, he suddenly disappeared. The Hurons believed that he had stolen away, but, a few days after his disappearance, his corpse was found in the forest lying on a bed of fir branches, where he had taken his own life by cutting his throat.

His companion, who was notified in order to exonerate the Hurons, said that the cause of his despair was the shame he felt at the contempt shown for the sacredness of his person by the Seneca and the Mohawk in going to the Huron country and massacring the Huron people while his life was in pledge for the keeping of the still faith of his people. Of such men was the great federal council of the Iroquois composed.