Erie (tribe)
The Erie were a significant tribal nation located in the region south of Lake Erie, extending down to the Ohio River, during the early seventeenth century. They were closely related to the Huron people and had a sedentary lifestyle centered around horticulture, with women cultivating crops such as corn, beans, and squash, while men engaged in hunting and fishing. This diverse agricultural system supported a robust population that peaked at around fourteen thousand individuals living in fortified villages. The Erie society was matrilineal and matrilocal, reflecting a cultural structure whereby lineage and residence were determined through maternal lines.
Known for their prowess as warriors, the Erie frequently engaged in conflicts with neighboring Iroquois tribes, particularly the Senecas, over hunting territories. Limited European contact during this period primarily involved French missionaries, who referred to them as "the Cat Nation" due to their distinctive animal skin garments. However, the Erie faced devastating challenges in the mid-seventeenth century when hostilities with the Iroquois escalated, leading to their eventual destruction and assimilation into Iroquois culture. By the end of the conflict, the Erie ceased to exist as a distinct group, and their language eventually became extinct. The Iroquois claimed their territory, further reshaping the cultural landscape of the region.
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Erie (tribe)
- CATEGORY: Tribe
- CULTURE AREA: Northeast
- LANGUAGE GROUP: Iroquoian
- PRIMARY LOCATION: South shore of Lake Erie
The Erie were a powerful sedentary Indigenous nation closely related to the Huron, occupying lands south of Lake Erie down to the Ohio River in the early seventeenth century. With an economy based on horticulture, the women produced the crops of corn, beans, squash, and sunflowers, while men hunted and fished, thereby creating a varied and stable diet. Consequently, the Erie people numbered as many as 14,000 in the early seventeenth century, living in palisaded villages. They were matrilineal and matrilocal. Known as excellent warriors, they frequently clashed with the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) groups to their east, particularly the Seneca, over hunting grounds. The Erie had only limited contact with Europeans, mainly French missionaries who called them “the Cat (chat) Nation” because of their customary dress style of animal skin robes complete with tails. (The name “Erie” came from the Huron term for “it is long-tailed.”)
By the mid-seventeenth century, the Erie were supplying furs to the Susquehannock in what is present-day Pennsylvania. In the 1650s, war broke out between the Erie and their traditional enemies, the Haudenosaunee, after a diplomatic mission turned deadly. As a result of the renewed hostilities, the Erie Nation was attacked and destroyed by the Haudenosaunee, although the victors adopted more Erie people into their families than they killed. Some smaller bands escaped for a period, and sporadic fighting continued into 1657. The Erie did not survive this attack as a distinct group, and their language became extinct as their descendants were forced to speak Haudenosaunee languages. The Haudenosaunee were successful at destroying the Erie Nation not because of superior numbers of warriors or greater skill in battle but because of the firearms they had acquired from the Dutch. After having engulfed these people, the Haudenosaunee claimed Erie territory as their ancestral hunting grounds.
Bibliography
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