Iroquois Confederacy Timeline

The American Revolution divided the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. The Oneida and Tuscarora generally supported the American cause, while the Mohawk, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca largely supported Britain, although individual allegiances varied.

Image source: American Revolutionary War

At Oriskany in New York, Patriot militia and a Haudenosaunee force aligned with Britain fought a bloody engagement during the Saratoga campaign. The battle caused severe losses and deepened the Confederacy's internal divisions.

Image source: Battle of Oriskany

The Continental Army's Sullivan–Clinton campaign destroyed Haudenosaunee towns, crops, orchards, and food stores across present-day New York. The campaign sought to end Haudenosaunee support for Britain and created widespread displacement and famine.

Image source: Sullivan Expedition

The Treaty of Paris recognized United States independence but did not include the Haudenosaunee as a negotiating party. Britain ceded territory that included Haudenosaunee homelands, leaving allied nations to face American expansion with limited British protection.

Image source: Treaty of Paris (1783)

The United States negotiated the Treaty of Fort Stanwix with Haudenosaunee representatives after the Revolution. It confined the Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca to defined territories and confirmed major American claims to Indigenous land.

The Treaty of Canandaigua established peace between the United States and the Haudenosaunee after the Revolution. It recognized reservation boundaries, affirmed federal obligations, and remains a central treaty in contemporary Haudenosaunee sovereignty claims.

Image source: Treaty of Canandaigua

Many Haudenosaunee people who had supported Britain resettled in British North America, particularly along the Grand River in present-day Ontario. The Six Nations of the Grand River became a major Haudenosaunee political community outside the United States.

The Treaty of Buffalo Creek attempted to transfer several Haudenosaunee reservations in western New York and promote removal to lands west of the Mississippi. It was later modified after opposition, but it accelerated land loss and pressure on Haudenosaunee communities.

The Seneca Nation and its allies resisted provisions of the Treaty of Buffalo Creek that would have required removal from western New York. Their resistance helped preserve the Allegany, Cattaraugus, and Oil Spring reservations.

Seneca religious leader Handsome Lake began receiving visions that became the Code of Handsome Lake. The teachings combined Haudenosaunee spiritual traditions with moral reforms and helped support cultural renewal after war, displacement, and social crisis.

Colonial and United States policies challenged Haudenosaunee matrilineal governance, clan authority, and the political roles of women. Despite these pressures, Clan Mothers and other community leaders continued to maintain traditional systems of accountability and leadership.

Image source: Dawes Act

The Dawes Act promoted allotment of collectively held Indigenous lands into individual parcels and opened remaining lands to non-Indigenous settlement. Although not uniformly applied to every Haudenosaunee nation, allotment policies contributed to land loss and legal pressure on Indigenous governments.

The Society of American Indians brought together Indigenous activists, professionals, and reformers, including people connected to Haudenosaunee communities. It helped advance national discussions about citizenship, education, land rights, and Indigenous political status.

Levi General, known as Deskaheh, represented the Six Nations of the Grand River in an effort to obtain international recognition of Haudenosaunee sovereignty. Although the League of Nations did not hear the petition, the campaign established an enduring model of Indigenous international diplomacy.

The United States granted citizenship to all Native Americans born in the country through the Indian Citizenship Act. Haudenosaunee nations continued to assert that federal citizenship did not erase their preexisting national identities and treaty rights.

The Indian Reorganization Act ended the general allotment policy and encouraged federally recognized tribes to adopt written constitutions. Haudenosaunee nations debated and responded to the law according to their own political traditions and views of inherent sovereignty.

Construction of Kinzua Dam on the Allegheny River flooded a substantial portion of the Allegany Reservation and displaced Seneca families. The project became a major symbol of the conflict between federal development policy and Haudenosaunee treaty rights.

Haudenosaunee activists participated in the wider Indigenous rights movement, emphasizing treaty enforcement, land recovery, traditional governance, and cultural revitalization. Their activism helped bring Indigenous sovereignty issues to national and international attention.

Image source: American Indian Movement

Mohawk activists occupied the Moss Lake area near the Six Nations of the Grand River in a protest over land rights and unrecognized Haudenosaunee claims. The action reflected growing use of direct protest to challenge Canadian land policies.

The Haudenosaunee Confederacy developed its own passport to express its status as a sovereign Indigenous polity. Its use has periodically created disputes over international travel and recognition, while symbolizing continuing diplomatic independence.

Haudenosaunee representatives participated in United Nations discussions during the first International NGO Conference on Discrimination Against Indigenous Populations in the Americas. Their international advocacy linked treaty rights and self-determination to global Indigenous rights.

The Haudenosaunee Nationals, formerly known as the Iroquois Nationals, began competing internationally in men's lacrosse. Their participation presents lacrosse as a Haudenosaunee cultural gift and asserts the Confederacy's identity as an international sporting nation.

The United Nations adopted the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples after decades of Indigenous advocacy, including participation by Haudenosaunee representatives. The declaration recognizes self-determination, cultural rights, lands, resources, and free, prior, and informed consent.

Image source: Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

New York State transferred a small parcel to the Onondaga Nation in a settlement connected to historic land and environmental issues. The action was significant as a limited recognition of Haudenosaunee land claims amid continuing disputes.