MOHAWK - Discovering the Valley of the Crystals Copyright 2002
Chapter Five - Iroquois
The Oneidas - The Untold Story
Like the Mohawks, the Oneidas came to Central New York by way of the
Susquehanna watershed. However, unlike the Mohawks very little is
known about their villages in the Mohawk Valley prior to the 1600s. My
research and exploration of the area indicates there had to be a number
of village sites in the western Mohawk Valley that were occupied by Iroquoian
people who evolved into the Oneida Nation.
More than 100 Indian village sites have been discovered
in the
Mohawk Valley between Little Falls and Schenectady.
(Relief maps of Mohawk Valley provided by Ray Sterner of John Hopkins Univeristy)
As noted previously there is a great deal of archaeological
evidence that the 15th and 16th Century Mohawks lived in highly defensible
positions well away from the Mohawk River. These villages were located
(and frequently relocated) near streams where fish, game and mussels were
abundant, and where soil fertility was marginal. Later as the Iroquois
League provided greater security, Mohawk villages were moved to less defensible
hilltop positions closer to the river where the soil was more fertile.
It is inconceivable to me that similar locations
in the western section of the valley--- of which there are
many---were not occupied by the Oneidas during the same time period.
It's inconceivable that there are no Indian village sites
in the hills and valleys between Rome and Little Falls.
There are a number of reasons for the lack of information about Oneida archaeological sites in the Mohawk Valley. Unlike the eastern Mohawk Valley where colleges, universities and the Albany based New York State Museum have conducted research and field work at long-established and recently discovered Mohawk sites, the area between Little Falls and Rome has received little attention from archaeologists or anthropologists.
The only authoritative reference to such sites that I was able to find was:
"Small fifteenth century village sites were scattered broadly through the Mohawk drainage and beyond it to the west. The Oneidas probably nucleated out of upstream villages just as the Mohawks nucleated out of related downstream villages."
In recent years I've communicated with
archaeologists and anthropologists from several colleges and universities,
and the New York State Museum. I discovered there is little interest in
locating or studying possible village sites at the western end of the valley.
I reported one such site to the NYS Museum. Other than a comment on how
detailed my report was, I've received no indication this site will be considered
for evaluation.
I have subsequently learned that State funds are
not available for study and that it is against the law for anyone but a
professional to conduct such searches or studies. It is also against the
law for professionals to discuss "newly-discovered" archaeological sites
with non-professionals.
These laws are a direct result of the damage "treasure
hunters" or "artifact addicts" caused at many of the Mohawk Valley sites
over the years. Many artifacts were uncovered and removed without consideration
to the number and location of dwellings, palisades, storage pits and other
features that could provide important historical data. In some cases bulldozers
were used to uncover village sites and burial grounds, thus destroying
many artifacts and the historical integrity of the sites.
The desecration of Indian burial grounds in New
York State and across this nation led to a number of state and federal
laws protecting the remains of Native Americans.
Most of the Indian village sites and burial grounds
in the Mohawk Valley were discovered or identified by amateur historians
and archaeologists. Some were uncovered by farmers and construction workers.
One of the more recently "reported" discoveries
illustrates that the Oneidas had had a significant presence in the Mohawk
Valley in the 1600s. This site---just east of Fort Plain---was discovered
and subsequently destroyed during the construction of the New York State
Thruway in the 1950s. Although New York State archaeologists had little
time to evaluate this site, its size and the presence of both Mohawk and
Oneida pottery indicated it was the largest Indian village in the history
of the valley and was inhabited by Mohawks and Oneidas in almost equal
numbers.
"Their combined population was probably about
3300. Loss of this very large site due to the thruway construction has
been the most serious single loss to Mohawk archaeology."
This Fort Plain settlement was established
around 1615 when many Oneidas moved closer to the Dutch trading center.
It was abandoned during the smallpox epidemic in the 1630s. After that
time there is little evidence of Oneida settlements in the Mohawk Valley
other than their small village at the mouth of Oriskany Creek.
The likelihood that Oneida village sites between
Little Falls and Rome will be discovered and/or evaluated is very remote.
Government funds for such studies are limited. Because of the variety
of laws previously noted, many sites even if discovered are not reported.
And when a non-professional makes a discovery and reports it to the State
it disappears.
Today's professional archaeologist or anthropologist
believes "It's alright to leave these sites for future generations to discover."
They don't add, "but only if it's a professional who does the discovering."
I have no interest in gathering artifacts. My interest
is in filling the gaps in the fragmented history of the Oneida Nation.
The Nation is presently sponsoring the archaeological study of known
Oneida sites in northern Madison County. Perhaps they will one day provide
the funds for a local college or university to reveal the untold story
of the Oneidas in the Mohawk Valley.
