Uploaded April 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
Haudenosaunee people have lived on the land now called New York State since as early as 1142. The confederacy is composed of six nations - Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and Tuscarora nations. The Erie Canal’s path follows the traditional waterways of the Haudenosaunee. The Oneida Carrying Place, a six-mile portage connecting the Mohawk River and Wood Creek, served as a vital link for those traveling by water from the ocean to the Great Lakes.
The Revolutionary War led to the dispossession of many Haudenosaunee territories. After the war, many Haudenosaunee moved to Canada to establish a community there now known as the Six Nations Reserve. Between 1785 and 1792, the Haudenosaunee who remained in New York faced overwhelming pressure to give up their lands. The Erie Canal was constructed through this land following the Revolution and the War of 1812.
Unfair and illegal sales of Haudenosaunee lands continued until 1842, resulting in smaller reservations dispersed throughout the state. Today, the nations of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy are in seven communities in Canada and twelve in the United States.
We look back at the events that led to the canal’s construction, and how the Haudenosaunee view its role today.
Chapters:
0:00 Introduction to the Haudenosaunee
2:18 Impact of the Erie Canal
3:12 Two Row - Differing values between colonists and Haudenosaunee
5:01 Sullivan-Clinton campaign
8:03 Non-Intercourse Act
8:40 Treaty of Canandaigua
9:10 Onondaga Today
Image credits:
Fenimore Art Museum
Library of Congress
New York State Museum
New York State Library, Manuscripts and Special Collections
National Archives Catalog, US National Archives and Records Adminstration
Hiawatha Belt. Photo by Flickr user Qabluna. June 11, 2016. Used under Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0). creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0
Want more info on this topic? Check out the resources below:
Onondaga Nation
onondaganation.org
Skä•noñh Great Law of Peace Center
skanonhcenter.org
National Park Service nps.gov/articles/000/state-of-new-york-treaties-and-land-transactions-with-the-oneida-onondaga-and-cayuga.htm
Conspiracy of Interests: Iroquois Dispossession and the Rise of New York State by Laurence M. Hauptman
Learn more about Reflections on the Erie Canal at wmht.org/ErieCanal
#ErieCanal200
Haudenosaunee people have lived on the land now called New York State since as early as 1142. The confederacy is composed of six nations - Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and Tuscarora nations. The Erie Canal’s path follows the traditional waterways of the Haudenosaunee. The Oneida Carrying Place, a six-mile portage connecting the Mohawk River and Wood Creek, served as a vital link for those traveling by water from the ocean to the Great Lakes.
The Revolutionary War led to the dispossession of many Haudenosaunee territories. After the war, many Haudenosaunee moved to Canada to establish a community there now known as the Six Nations Reserve. Between 1785 and 1792, the Haudenosaunee who remained in New York faced overwhelming pressure to give up their lands. The Erie Canal was constructed through this land following the Revolution and the War of 1812.
Unfair and illegal sales of Haudenosaunee lands continued until 1842, resulting in smaller reservations dispersed throughout the state. Today, the nations of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy are in seven communities in Canada and twelve in the United States.
We look back at the events that led to the canal’s construction, and how the Haudenosaunee view its role today.
Chapters:
0:00 Introduction to the Haudenosaunee
2:18 Impact of the Erie Canal
3:12 Two Row - Differing values between colonists and Haudenosaunee
5:01 Sullivan-Clinton campaign
8:03 Non-Intercourse Act
8:40 Treaty of Canandaigua
9:10 Onondaga Today
Image credits:
Fenimore Art Museum
Library of Congress
New York State Museum
New York State Library, Manuscripts and Special Collections
National Archives Catalog, US National Archives and Records Adminstration
Hiawatha Belt. Photo by Flickr user Qabluna. June 11, 2016. Used under Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0). creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0
Want more info on this topic? Check out the resources below:
Onondaga Nation
onondaganation.org
Skä•noñh Great Law of Peace Center
skanonhcenter.org
National Park Service nps.gov/articles/000/state-of-new-york-treaties-and-land-transactions-with-the-oneida-onondaga-and-cayuga.htm
Conspiracy of Interests: Iroquois Dispossession and the Rise of New York State by Laurence M. Hauptman
Learn more about Reflections on the Erie Canal at wmht.org/ErieCanal
#ErieCanal200
![Reflections on the Erie Canal [FULL DOCUMENTARY]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Iqfe7grWuNU/mqdefault.jpg "Reflections on the Erie Canal [FULL DOCUMENTARY]
In 1825, the state of New York completed the Erie Canal. Today, the singular historic purpose of the canal has been replaced by a broader significance. Together, the Erie, Champlain, Oswego, and Cayuga-Seneca canals serve communities in ways unimaginable to their creators. Now, we reflect on the two-hundred year journey of the Erie Canal and contemplate its future.
EXPLORE MORE: https://wmht.org/eriecanal")
