Nations of Ontario and north New York state

In the period before contact with Europeans there were three main groups living around Lake Ontario.

The Ontario Iroquois lived to the north and west of Lake Ontario. The main group was the Wendat, as well as the Petun, Neutral and Erie, who lived on the eastern end of Lake Erie. Another obscure group called the Wenro appear to have lived south of Lake Ontario. The Iroquois were part of the Iroquoian cultural group.

The south east side of Lake Ontario, in what is now New York State, was the homeland of the other Iroquoian group, the Iroquois, consisting of the Seneca, Cayuga, Onandaga, Oneida, and Mohawk. In ENEMY ARROWS the Iroquois are called the Enemy from Across the Lake. Northern Ontario was the homeland of the Algonquian-speaking people, the Algonquin, the Ojibwa and Cree. The Algonquians, the allies of the Wendat, are called the People of the Lakes.

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