Editing Oneida language (section)

==History==

===Proposed genetic affiliation of Oneida===
Derived from [[Floyd Lounsbury|Lounsbury's]] work and her own original scholarship, Michelson presents a genealogy of the Iroquois language family, of which Oneida is a part.<ref>{{harvp|Michelson|1988|pp=2–3}}</ref> As attested by Gick, her work is among the little linguistic research on Oneida dating after Lounsbury's definitive work.<ref>{{harvp|Michelson|1988|pp=x, 169–172}}</ref> Iroquois has two major subdivisions, Northern and Southern; Southern Iroquois encompasses only Cherokee, which is at present by far the most widespread Iroquois language with in excess of about 2,000 speakers.<ref name="emergency">{{Cite news|url=https://www.theonefeather.com/2019/06/tri-council-declares-state-of-emergency-for-cherokee-language/|title=Tri-Council declares State of Emergency for Cherokee language|last=McKie|first=Scott|date=June 27, 2019|work=Cherokee One Feather|access-date=July 2, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190629081731/https://www.theonefeather.com/2019/06/tri-council-declares-state-of-emergency-for-cherokee-language/|archive-date=June 29, 2019}}</ref> Lake-Iroquois languages make up the majority of Northern Iroquois, with the exception of extinct Tuscarora and Nottoway.<ref name="nvtc"/> Of the Lake-Iroquois languages, Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca are extant, with only Mohawk having more than a thousand speakers.<ref name="nvtc"/><ref>{{harvp|Michelson|1988|p=3}}</ref> The close relation of Oneida with Mohawk and Onondaga is further substantiated by archaeological evidence of early Oneida villages, particularly Nichols Pond.<ref>{{harvp|Wonderley|2004|pp=5–6}}</ref>

===History of the speakers of Oneida===
The Nichols Pond village site dates to approximately 1450, indicating the Onondaga as the probable immediate ancestors of the Oneida, as corroborated by a myth of the formation of the Oneida tribe by two Onondaga brothers.<ref>{{harvp|Wonderley|2004|pp=4–6}}</ref> From this time, the Oneida remained largely sedentary through the arrival of French missionaries in the mid-17th century at their main settlement at Primes Hill in northern New York.<ref>{{harvp|Wonderley|2004|pp=6–10}}</ref> Due to the centrality of hunting to the Oneida culture, clan membership was matrilineal (as men were often away) and tasks were divided along gender lines,<ref name="Wonderley_9"/> both societal elements that are still at least nominally in place.<ref>{{harvp|Elm|Antone|2000|p=viii}}</ref> The Oneida rapidly adopted French technology and integrated it with little cultural change into the common lifestyle.<ref>{{harvp|Wonderley|2004|pp=13, 18}}</ref> In their attempt to bring European religion, however, French missionaries, spearheaded by [[Jacques Bruyas]], gradually succeeded in dismantling a significant portion of Oneida culture.<ref>{{harvp|Wonderley|2004|pp=16–17}}</ref>

Under the leadership of Chief Good Peter, and against the rest of the Iroquois Confederacy, the Oneida backed the United States in the [[United States Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]]. [[Oneida Castle]] at Primes Hill was destroyed in 1780 by loyalist forces, beginning a difficult era for the Oneida that resulted in their subsequent nearly complete assimilation into the new American way of life with respect to appearance, technology, and lifestyle<ref>{{harvp|Wonderley|2004|pp=19–20}}</ref> Almost immediately after the end of hostilities, however, they suffered severe political abuse by the State of New York, and the vast majority of Oneida land was annexed. During this time, portions of the tribe broke off and relocated to Wisconsin and Ontario. This process of sequestration and demoralization culminated in 1850 with the appropriation by the [[Utica, New York|City of Utica]] of the Oneida Stone, a long-standing symbol of the Nation.<ref>{{harvp|Wonderley|2004|pp=23–24, 28–29}}</ref>

Within the last ten to twenty years, the Oneida Nation of New York has been greatly revitalized by the establishment of the [[Turning Stone Resort and Casino]]. The funds generated from this enterprise have enabled the Nation to direct substantial effort to rebuilding both culture and territory (www.oneidaindiannation.com) and have led to the formation of a variety of other Nation-owned businesses (www.onenterprises.com). Most notably, in April 2005, the Oneida Nation of New York filed an ultimately successful application for federal land-into-trust territorial organization, limiting jurisdiction and tax liability, of Oneida territory to the Nation and the federal government.<ref>Gregory, Traci. "Breaking down the Ruling on the Nation's Properties," ''[[Central New York Business Journal]]'' 6 Jun 2008: 3.</ref>

===Written history of Oneida===
The written historical record of the Oneida has largely been written by outside individuals in foreign languages, either English or French. The script used for Oneida writing was developed by French missionaries,<ref name="nvtc"/> but writing by Oneida individuals is extant only from relatively recent years and is nearly exclusively in English. Prior writings about Oneida language and people recorded oral narratives, and even these accounts dropped off about 1930.<ref>{{harvp|Wonderley|2004|pp=xiv–xvi}}</ref> It is only since the 1980s that the Oneida themselves have employed writing, in any language, at least in a public context, and much of this stems from the legal battles of the Nation. ''The Creation Story'' by Elm & Antone is the only book written in Oneida in major publication, and much of the scholarship underlying this work, while certainly in collaboration with Oneida speakers, was done in English.<ref>e.g. {{harvp|Elm|Antone|2000|pp=7–27}}</ref>