Niagara's Indigenous History

In the year 1615, the area now known as Niagara was home to the Onguiaahra (or Onguiarahronon) "People of the Strait", a nation of "Neutral" peoples established around the Niagara River. The Onguiaahra lived in longhouses, farmed corn and tobacco, and were renowned for their trade agreements with neighbouring nations.

 

The Neutral Confederacy (Chonnonton) was Iroquois-adjacent, but culturally distinct and made up of several smaller nations, of which the Onguiaahra was one. Collectively, they formed the largest Indigenous society in the Eastern Woodlands, at one time stretching from Sarnia to Rochester, from the north shore of Lake Erie to Caledon, having held these lands as their traditional territory for centuries. But the arrival of European settlers brought changes that saw the end to centuries of coexistence, leading to the decimation of their population through famine, war, and disease. Remaining survivors assimilated into neighbouring nations when they were displaced by the Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabeg. 

 

As a distinct group, they ceased to exist in the mid 1600s. As a result, much of their history was lost, and a great deal of what had been recorded was written through a colonial lens. In settler accounts, Chonnonton were viewed as peacekeepers and leaders due to their many trade agreements and staying uninvolved in warring nations' disputes, but we can't know if this is how they saw themselves. 

 

The name "Neutrals" was one assigned by French settlers. To their Wendat neighbours, they were known as Attarondewan, "people whose speech is awry", an exonym now seen by many as pejorative. The largest of the Neutral nations referred to themselves as Chonnonton (keepers of the deer). While it doesn't acknowledge all nations in the confederacy, it has become the preferred Indigenous language name to represent them. 

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In the year 1615, the area now known as Niagara-on-the-Lake was home to the Onguiaahra (or Onguiarahronon) "People of the Strait", a nation of "Neutral" peoples established around the Niagara River. The Neutral Confederacy (Chonnonton) was Iroquois-adjacent, but culturally distinct and made up of several smaller nations, one of which was the Onguiaahra. 

 

The term "Neutrals" was a label assigned by French settlers. The Wendat referred to them as Attarondewan, "people whose speech is awry", an exonym now seen by many as pejorative. The largest of the Neutral nations referred to themselves as Chonnonton (keepers of the deer). Although it doesn't acknowledge all nations in the confederacy, it has become the preferred Indigenous language name to represent them. 

 

Pre-contact, this Confederacy formed the largest Indigenous society in the Eastern Woodlands, having occupied these lands as their traditional territory for centuries. But the arrival of European settlers brought changes that saw an end to that coexistence, leading to the decimation of their population through famine, war, resource competition and disease. They were then displaced by the Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabeg, with remaining survivors assimilating into neighbouring nations. 

 

In settler accounts, the Chonnonton were described as peacekeepers and leaders due to their many trade agreements and preference to remain uninvolved in warring nations' disputes, but we can't know if this is how they saw themselves. The collapse of the Chonnonton happened within a few decades of settler arrival, and by the mid-1600's they ceased to exist as a distinct group. While much of their history has been lost, and a great deal of what had been recorded was written through a colonial lens, their identity persists through their descendants, with bloodlines continuing among the Seneca and Wendat nations, who integrated many survivors.