Oneida

Oneida, North American tribe belonging linguistically to the Iroquoian family and forming part of the Iroquois Confederacy. The name by which the tribe is known is a corruption of an indigenous word meaning “standing rock,” referring to a boulder sacred to the tribe situated near the site of their ancient village on Lake Oneida, New York. Their territory included the region surrounding the lake and later extended south to the Susquehanna River. The tribe was friendly toward the French colonists and Jesuit missionaries, although most members of the confederacy were hostile to the outsiders. During the American Revolution the Oneida sided with the colonists and were obliged to take refuge within the American settlements when their fellow tribes took the side of the British. After the war most of the Oneida returned to Canada and settled in the region of the Thames River, Ontario, where their descendants still remain. Between 1820 and 1835, most of the Oneida who had returned to their homes in New York State sold their land and moved to a reservation near Green Bay, Wisconsin. In the 2000 U.S. census about 700 people identified themselves as Oneida only; an additional 200 people reported being part Oneida.