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   Erie

   Erie Location: southern shore of Lake Erie beginning near Buffalo, New York and then west to the vicinity of Sandusky, Ohio. Their homeland may also have extended far inland to include large parts of the upper Ohio River Valley and its branches in northern Ohio, western Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

   The French had only one meeting with the Erie but never learned how many villages there were or the extent of their territory. Estimates have varied from 4,000 to 15,000, but the ability of the Erie to defy the Iroquois (without benefit of European firearms) seems to favor the higher figures - probably at least 10,000. There appears to have been a sudden surge in their population prior to 1653. The wide range in their population estimates could be explained by the large number of Huron and Neutral refugees who joined the Erie in 1651.

   Erie is a short form of the Iroquian word "Erielhonan" meaning literally "long tail"" and referring to the panther (cougar or mountain lion). Hence their French name was Nation du Chat (cat nation).

   The Erie had a large population, several divisions and lived in permanent, stockaded towns. Like other Iroquian peoples in the area, they were an agricultural people. They were traditional enemies of the Iroquois, and there had been many wars between them before the Europeans. The Iroquois, who always mentioned the Erie were great warriors, have verified the long-term hostility, and also add that the Erie frequently used poisoned arrows in war.

   In 1615 Etienne Brule met a group of Erie near Niagara Falls. So far as is known, this was their only encounter with Europeans. At the time the Erie were members of a three-way alliance(Neutrals and Wenro) against the Iroquois. Although it is not known for certain, it is quite possible some of the Erie were allied with the Susquehannock and supported their wars with Iroquois. In any event, the Erie often traded with the Susquehannock and received European goods from them at an early date. It also appears that the Susquehannock were very careful to insure the Erie did not get any firearms and only a limited supply of metal weapons. Huron and Neutral traders apparently took similar precautions.

   The Erie needed beaver for this trade and probably encroached on other tribal territories to get it. The result was a war with an unknown Algonquin enemy in 1635 that forced the Erie to abandon some of their western villages. Defeated by 1651, large numbers of Neutral and Huron (several thousand) escaped and fled to the Erie. The Erie accepted these refugees but did not treat them well. Apparently, there were still bad feelings from the break-up of the past alliance. They were allowed to stay in the Erie villages but only in a condition of subjugation.

   Meanwhile, the Iroquois League demanded the Erie surrender the refugees, but with hundreds of new warriors, the Erie refused. The dispute simmered for two years of strained diplomacy. The western Iroquois (Seneca, Cayuga, and Onondaga) continued to view the refugees as a threat and were not willing to let the matter drop. The Erie were just as determined not to be intimidated by Iroquois threats. Their position, however, was becoming precarious, since the Mohawk and Oneida in 1651 had begun a long war against the Susquehannock (Pennsylvania) isolating the Erie from their only possible ally. The violence grew, and an Erie raid into the Seneca homeland killed the Seneca sachem Annencraos in 1653. In an attempt to avoid open warfare, both sides agreed to a peace conference. However, in the course of a heated argument, one of the Erie warriors killed an Onondaga. The enraged Iroquois killed all 30 of the Erie representatives, and after this peace was impossible. Although they had the advantage of firearms, the Iroquois considered the Erie as dangerous opponents, so they took the precaution of first making peace with the French before beginning the war. Assured the French would not intervene, the western Iroquois attacked and destroyed two Erie fortified villages in 1654. However, the Erie inflicted heavy losses on the Iroquois during these battles. It took the Seneca, Cayuga, and Onondaga until 1656 before the Erie were defeated. Many survivors were incorporated into the Seneca to replace their losses in the war, and the Erie ceased to exist as a separate tribe.


   It is very likely that many of the Seneca in Oklahoma today have Erie ancestors.

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