Onondaga

Onondaga is a term with several related meanings. It primarily refers to the Onondaga, an Indigenous people of the Iroquoian language family and one of the original nations of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. Their traditional homeland lay around Onondaga Lake in central New York, near present-day Syracuse. The Onondaga language is part of the Iroquoian family, and the people have a long history in the region. They played a central role in Haudenosaunee governance and were closely associated with the Confederacy’s ceremonial Council Fire in the longhouse at Onondaga.

The Onondaga Nation today is a federally recognized tribe with a reservation in central New York. It maintains its own government and cultural programs, while interacting with state and federal authorities within the framework of law. The nation continues to preserve traditional practices, language revitalization efforts, and economic development on the reservation and in surrounding areas.

Geographically, the name Onondaga appears in several New York designations: Onondaga County, which includes the city of Syracuse; the Town of Onondaga in that county; and Onondaga Lake, a lake near Syracuse that endured significant industrial pollution in the 20th century and has undergone cleanup efforts. The term is used in other place names and institutions in central New York as well.