Post by Matthew S. Schweitzer on Sept 18, 2003 13:41:17 GMT -5
Not much is known about the Erie Indians that once inhabited the southern shores of Lake Erie. They had no significant contact with Europeans and thus there is little historic evidence about their people other than that which was passed on to the Jesuits from the Huron and other neighboring tribes. Exterminated by the Iroquois Confederacy in the late 17th century, they became the greatest casualty of the Beaver Wars, those years when the 5 Nations of the Iroquois waged a war for control over the Ohio Valley and its rich supply of beaver and deer. The Erie were ultimately defeated by the Iroquois in 1656, with the remaining members of their nation being absorbed into the Seneca and Onondaga. Today cities like Cleveland, Buffalo, Erie, and Lorain stand on the shores of the great lake that still bears their name.
The conquest of the Erie is a prime example of the early influence of European trade goods on native tribes that had little to no contact with the whites. The Beaver Wars themselves were spurred by the Iroquois desire for beaver pelts to sell to English and Dutch traders after their own lands had become trapped out by the mid 17th century. And despite inflicting heavy loses over a two year period of sporadic warfare against the Iroquois, the lack of European firearms ultimately doomed them to defeat.
Below are a few informative articles about the Erie and their demise.
www.centurytel.net/tjs11/hist/erind.htm
www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/oh/newspapers/natives/erie.txt
And here is a good article on the Beaver Wars in general:
216.239.39.104/search?q=cache:hUmz4WrmctkJ:us.geocities.com/christman19/Chron1618_1709_BeaverWars.html+beaver+wars&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
The conquest of the Erie is a prime example of the early influence of European trade goods on native tribes that had little to no contact with the whites. The Beaver Wars themselves were spurred by the Iroquois desire for beaver pelts to sell to English and Dutch traders after their own lands had become trapped out by the mid 17th century. And despite inflicting heavy loses over a two year period of sporadic warfare against the Iroquois, the lack of European firearms ultimately doomed them to defeat.
Below are a few informative articles about the Erie and their demise.
www.centurytel.net/tjs11/hist/erind.htm
www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/oh/newspapers/natives/erie.txt
And here is a good article on the Beaver Wars in general:
216.239.39.104/search?q=cache:hUmz4WrmctkJ:us.geocities.com/christman19/Chron1618_1709_BeaverWars.html+beaver+wars&hl=en&ie=UTF-8