Because of the threat on the new york frontier the

Because of the threat on the New York frontier, the American commander in chief,
General George Washington, who would later become the first president of the
United States, sent an invading army into Iroquoia in 1779 under Generals John
Sullivan and James Clinton. The Sullivan-Clinton Campaign defeated the
Haudenosaunee, not so much through direct warfare, but by burning their houses
and detroying crops. The Haudenosaunee called Washington "Town Detroyer."
In the years following the Revolution and birth of the United States, the
Haudenosaunee had to give up most of their vast land holdings. Some tribes were
granted small tracts of state reservation lands. Other Haudenosaunee, like
Joseph Brant, moved to Canada.
CONTEMPORARY IROQUOIS:
Haudenosaunee live on reservations in New York, Ontario, and Quebec as well as
large cities of the Northeast, such as New York City, Buffalo, Albany, and
Toronto. Others live in Wisconsin and Oklahoma.
Representatives of the Six Nations still meet in council and recite the Great
Law. There currently are two Grand Councils with two Council Fires--one at the
traditional site of Onondaga in central New York State and the other at Grand
River in Ontario, the location of the Six Nations Reserve. The former council
negotiates with the U.S. federal government and the New York state government
concerning Haudenosaunee affairs; the latter negotiates Canada's federal and

provincial governments. The two coucils meet to discuss matters affecting all
Haudenosaunee.
Tribal members have intermarried, leading to familial ties among the Six
Nations. Individuals of different nations also meet regularly at powwows, such
as at the Iroquois Indian Museum in Howe's Cave, New York, where they sell their
traditional and modern art--paintings; stone, wood, bone, and antler sculptures;
baskets; leather goods; featherwork; beadwork; and lacrosse sticks. They give
demonstrations of their work. They speak of their history, legends, and
traditions. They perform songs and dances.
The Six Nations--Cayuga, Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Seneca, and Tuscarora--have
much in common: political unity through their confederacy, similar histories,
and similar lifeways. But as contemporary Haudenosaunee will point out, although
the ties among the nations are strong, they have unique identities.