...families or nations of Indians, in the present State of New York. These were called, respectively, Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, and Senecas. Tradition says the confederacy was founded by Hiawatha , the incarnation of wisdom, at about the beginning of the fifteenth century. He came from his celestial home and dwelt with the Onondagas, where he taught the related tribes the knowledge of good ...