a little history lesson

Published in The Post-Star (B2)
9/19/05

Most people learned in school that the Revolutionary War was a conflict between British troops and American colonists, but they might not know the colonists had help from the Indians.

“That part usually gets left out of the history textbooks,” said Nate George, a re-enactor with the Oneida Indian Nation Living History Program who helped to re-create an American encampment this past weekend at Saratoga National Historical Park to commemorate the 228th anniversary of the Battles of Saratoga. About 20 volunteers and staff from the Oneida program participated in the event, alongside members of the Massachusetts 25th Continental Regiment and the Fort Edward-based 2nd Regiment of Continental Artillery.

George dressed for the re-enactment as an 18th-century Oneida warrior, in a large linen shirt, leather leggings and center-seam moccasins. A spray of red horsehair and porcupine quills adorned his shaved head, and he wore a shield-like gold neckpiece called a gorget to signify his status as a leading warrior. It was a striking image and one George enjoys resurrecting for today’s public to educate them about the Oneida’s role in Revolutionary War history.

“We need to tell the stories that aren’t written,” George said, adding the Oneida rely on a rich oral history because they believe “it’s the passion behind the words that gives them their meaning and you lose that when you write them down on paper.”

The Oneida were among the first allies of the colonists during the war and helped them win the Battles of Saratoga. The alliance was a difficult decision for the Oneida, because there was no consensus within the six-tribe Iroquois Confederacy that united the region’s Indian population at the time. After trying unsuccessfully to stay neutral, the Oneida chose the colonists’ side as “the lesser of two evils,” George said.

“It seemed the colonists were fighting for the same things we were — freedom and a place to raise a family,” said Kathy Kuhl, who also works for the Oneida program, and made beadwork at the park event. “But they made promises to us that were broken as soon as the war was over.”

Time doesn’t heal all wounds. The United States and Britain may be old chums these days, but the Iroquois Confederacy was never re-established after the war. The division left the Indians politically weak, and they lost most of their land as a result.

According to Kuhl, the Oneida’s lands were reduced from 6 million acres to just 32 after the war, although they recently purchased another 1,700 acres.
Disputes over land rights and property taxes continue between the federal government and Indian nations such as the Oneida.

“We still live with this every day. My home is part of a disputed area,” said Cindy Allers, a corporate buyer from Deansboro, near Utica, who volunteers as a re-enactor with the Living History Program. “There’s no easy answer.”
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