Oneida Belt

Pictured here is an edited version of the actual belt on top, and below is a picture of an Oneida belt flag which we designed here at OLCC

The Oneida Nation of the Thames is one of the original five tribes of the Iroquois Confederacy (Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida, Mohawk) which formed around 1450.  The Tuscaroras had lost their lands in North Carolina to English settlers around 1713, and were given refuge by the Oneidas. By 1722 the Tuscaroras were adopted into the Confederacy as the sixth nation, junior member under the sponsorship of Oneida.

The Oneida Belt records this event, documents the responsibility of Oneida to take in refugee nations under the Great Peace. The six diamonds represents the council fire of each nation and remains open-ended for any future additions.