The Onondaga call themselves Onoda'gega, sometimes spelled Onontakeka, which means People of the Hills, or Onondagaono (The People of the Hills). The Onondagaono are one of the original Five Nations to accept the Peacemaker's message, and they joined together with the Mohawk, Oneida, Seneca, and Cayuga to form the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, which is also know as the Iroquois Confederacy. Haudenosaunee translates to mean "People of the Longhouse," which refers to the type of homes built by the Haudenosaunee. In approximately 1714, the Tuscarora joined the Haudenosaunee, and the Confederacy became six Nations strong. Men typically wear a gustoweh (feathered hat) containing two eagle feathers placed near hills to represent that the Onondaga are known as the People of the Hills. When reading the Ayonwatha (Hiawatha) Belt, the Onondagaono are located at the center of the belt. If looking at the Ayonwatha Belt as it is presented on the first page of the web site, which is looking northward, then the Onondaga are represented by the symbol of the Great White Pine tree.
English: An Iroquois longhouse.
Wampum belt commemorating the Iroquois Confederacy
English: Traditional Chief of the Onondaga Nation,...After Tadodaho, who stood in the way of the Confederacy, accepted the Great Law of Peace from the Peacemaker, the Haudenosaunee Confederacy was founded, and then, at Onondaga, the Great Tree of Peace was planted and all the articles of war were buried beneath the tree. If one reads the belt by looking at the belt southward, then the Onondaga are represented by the symbol of the heart, for Onondaga is the center (Heart) of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy.
The Onondaga are known as the Fire-keepers, which has significance when the Grand Council of Chiefs, composed of all fifty chiefs of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, meet to discuss matters of importance to the entire Confederacy. During the Grand Council the Onondaga officially open and close the meeting, as well...