Tribes of the Northern District included those in upper New York, eastern Penn., and western Conn.

The IROQUOIS CONFEDERATION dominated the area but was split as to who to support during the Revolution. Prior to the Revolution, they dominated the area and its inhabitants. They had destroyed several neighboring tribes. In fact many survivors from these tribes were adopted by the Seneca and formed into small clans. In regards to clothing, their dress depended on the weather. In the Summer warriors were nude except for a breechcloth. In colder weather, they wore decorated deerskin frocks with cloth or buckskin breechcloths plus hide leggings. In severe cold weather, they would wear bearskin robes complete with claws. Their preferred colors of warpaint, in order of preference, were vermilion, charcoal, ochre and various shades of green. Their weapons, also in order of preference, includes a warclub of various sizes with a round head, musket, trade tomahawks, flat bows, and a few short spears. Some warriors also carried shields and every warrior carried a scalping knife. I was surprised that so few Indians could be raised to defend their homes during the Sullivan invasion. This seems to destroy the Movie myth of hordes of warriors attacking frontier American settlements.

MOHAWKS. A primary tribe in the Iroquois Confederation. One of the larger and more eastern tribes. Adopted the Anglican faith, and was a staunch supporter of the Crown. John Brant, one of their native Anglican ministers, became their main leader. They were considered more 'disciplined' than the Senecas and tended to limit the killing of non-combatants.

SENECAS. The largest and most westwardly located of the Iroquois tribes. They were strongly influenced by loyalist Col. John Butler. They rarely followed Mohawk leader John Brant. Most of the warriors provided to the combined Tory-Iroquois raids which were lead by Butler's Rangers were Senecas. It was the Senecas who ignored both John Brandt and Col Butler's son, Cpt Walter Butler , at Cherry Valley and attacked the town's people rather than capturing the fort. They were first Iroquois tribe to declare war on the Patriots, July 1777.

CAYUGAS. One of the Iroquois Confederation tribes. Supported the Crown by supplying scouts and guides. It is unknown if there were any warbands of only Cayuga warriors.

ONONDAGAS. One of the Iroquois Confederation tribes. Supported the Crown.

ONEIDAS. Their firm support of the Patriot cause resulted in the breakup of the Iroquois Confederation. They were heavily influenced by Presbyterian ministers from Connecticut. They provided intelligence, scouts and even small warbands in support of the Patriot forces. Their towns became the target of Mohawk raids. After the war, they were forced to make land concessions despite their support of the Patriots.

TUSCARORAS. Originally from the Virginia area, they were forced north in the early 1700s. They were adopted into the Iroquois Confederation but were never viewed as a full member with equal rights. During the war, they supported the Patriot cause. Some warriors accompanied Patriot expeditions as scouts, but most of the warriors remained home to protect against attacks by Tory and Seneca/Mohawk raiding parties.

CAUGHNAWAGA. Sometimes referred to as the Canadian Iroquois. Actually the nation was a confederation of several Nations which had been decimated by war and disease. It included Alagonquin tribes, Hurons, NY Iroquois as well as several other groups. While initially neutral, they still remembered both the English and Americans as enemies during the French and Indian Wars, the elders did not discourage "individual" groups from aiding the British.

MALISEETS, MICMACS and PASSAMAQUODDY. These are the NE coastal tribes in maine and Nova Scotia. Due to the British naval threat and available trade goods, these tribes swore alligence to the Crown but offered very limited military support.

ABENAKI. At Pennabscot, Maine an entire company was raised under the Massachusetts government for home defense. At Odanak, on the St Lawrence the village was divided with many serving with Patriot forces. The Patriot Cpt John Vincent's Company of Indian Rangers was composed of mainly Abenaki. However, some Abenaki served with the British at St Johns, Quebec and the Saratoga campaigns.

STOCKBRIDGE. By the 1770's several of the coastal tribes had been reduced to living in "reservations" near larger towns. The Stockbridge community included Wappinger, Housatonic and Mahican. They enlisted as a company and were often empoyed as light infantry.

Many of the Trans-Ohio tribes may have originated in the east but migrated west for various reasons. Many of these tribes remained at war with the Patriots well into the 1790s.

WYANDOTS. These tribes lived near the Great Lakes, between modern Detroit and Cleveland. They are sometimes referred to as the Western Hurons since their origin stems from the westward migration by the Hurons. Joined with the Mingos, Shawnee and Delaware in several raids on the Ohio Valley (Kentucky).

DELAWARE (Aka Lenapes). A small coastal clan was located in New Jersey. The majority of the tribe had migrated earlier to the Ohio Valley. The coastal clan supported the Patriots and supplied scouts to various expeditions. One clan became known as the Moravian Delawares due to their conversion by that Christian sect. The Moravians advocated neutrality until the Gnadenhuetten Massacre in 1782. Chief White Eyes, Netawatwes, maintained a neutral or pro-Patriot position until he was murdered by the Patriots. Killbuck succeeded White eyes as chief of the pro-Patriot clans. The pro-Crown clans often joined warbands dominated by the Wyandots and Shawnee. As with the other Ohio Indians, the Delaware continued to fight the Americans in Kentucky for several years after the war.

SHAWNEE. A trans-Ohio tribe located in the Ohio Valley. Often encouraged the southern tribes to fight the Patriots. They raided in Kentucky after pro-Patriot Chief Cornstalks was murdered by the Patriots in 1777. The Shawnee War of 1777-94 was mainly directed at settlers in the Ohio Valley. Initially they were very successful. By July 1777 only three Patriot settlements were left in Kentucky. Though joined by the Delaware, Mingos and Wyandots, the Shawnee were unable to stem the tide of colonists. After 1783, they lost most of their overt support from the British government which doomed their cause.Their raids continued until 1794.

MINGOS. A small tribe in Ohio. They were outcasts and emigrants from the Seneca Iroquois.

The Western Great Lakes- Upper Mississippi Valley Nations played a greater part in the Revolution than often acknowledged. Warriors from these tribes aided the British during the Patriot invasion of Canada in 1776 and Burgoyne in his 1777 Saratoga campaign. The assumption that these forces were mainly Iroquois is wrong since they were still neutral, mostly, during this period. Their support lessened with the successful campaign of G.R. Clarke.

OTTAWAS, CHIPPEWAS, MENOMINEES. These Nations from the Western Great Lakes area supported the British. It warriors from these tribes which rushed to block the Patriot invasion of Canada in 1776 and aided Burgoyne in his 1777 Saratoga campaign

MIAMI. Most sided with the British until 1779 when G. R. Clarke invaded the area and cut them off from British supplies. Then in 1780 a French expedition which included many Indians burned the Miami capitol at Kekionga. After 1780, they tried to maintain neutrality.

POTAWATOMI, KICKAPOOS. The divisions in these Nations reflected a common choice among the Indians. Those tribes near the British base at Detroit were pro-British. Tribes like the Wisconsin and Illinois joined the Patriots and favored the Spanish and French agents after 1779. Though outside the scope of this article, it must be noted that Patriot incursion during the later 1780s caused these tribe to band against the Americans after the war ended.

SAUK, FOX, SANTEE SIOUX. Supported the British. The Fox and Sauk tribes assumed a neutral position after a Patriot raid burned their capital. The Santee Sioux attacked Spanish traders and posts in their area.

Tribes of the Northern District
Tribes of the Southern District