Cayuga Man.
The Cayuga are a tribe of the Iroquoian confederation that formerly occupied the shores of Cayuga Lake, New York. Their name means “People of the Great Swamp.”
The tribe’s local council was composed of four clan kinship groups, which became the pattern of the Iroquoian Confederation. In 1660, they were estimated to number 1,500, but by 1778, they were reduced to 1,100.
At the beginning of the American Revolution, a large part of the tribe was removed to Canada and never returned. The rest were scattered among the other tribes of the Confederacy. Cayuga warriors fought on both sides during the Revolution, while others abstained. However, the Iroquois generally sided with the British, causing the Americans to make raids against them. Soon after the Revolution, many Cayuga sold their lands in New York, with some going to Ohio, where they joined other Iroquois and became known as the Seneca of the Sandusky or Mingo. These were later moved to Indian Territory (Oklahoma).
In November 1794, the New York Cayuga Nation and other Iroquois nations signed the Pickering Treaty with the United States. As allies of the defeated British, they were forced to cede much of their lands in New York to the United States.
Today, there are four Cayuga bands. The two largest, the Lower Cayuga and Upper Cayuga live in Ontario, Canada, at Six Nations of the Grand River. Those who live in the United States belong to the Cayuga Nation of New York in Versailles or the combined Cayuga-Seneca Nation in Oklahoma.
©Kathy Alexander/Legends of America, updated January 2025.
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