The History and Archaeology of the Iroquois du Nord: Historical Context for the Haudenosaunee and Europeans

Sponsored by University of Ottawa Press

Recorded on 07/24/2023
Posted in The Authority File

Episode 336

In the third episode of this four-part series, Ronald Williamson, co-editor of The History and Archaeology of the Iroquois du Nord, provides historical context for the Iroquois du Nord, a series of Haudenosaunee settlements on the north shore of Lake Ontario in the 1600s. He describes the conflicts between the French, English, and Dutch during this time period, in addition to background on the Beaver Wars. Ron also explains why Haudenosaunee satellite settlements were typically occupied for 20 years before moving to new areas. Last, he digs into the characteristics of the Haudenosaunee nations in the 17th century, paying particular attention to their relations with neighboring Indigenous groups and Europeans. Ron covers various diplomatic strategies, language use, and geographic scope.

About the guest:

Ronald F. Williamson
Founder and Senior Associate
Archaeological Services Inc.

Ronald F. Williamson is founder and now Senior Associate of Archaeological Services Inc. He has spent most of his career studying the history and archaeology of Ontario Iroquoians, much of it collaboratively with Indigenous partners. He is also Vice Chair of the board of Shared Path Consultation Initiative, a charitable organization dedicated to moving beyond collaboration and consultation to Indigenous decision-making in land use planning. He has published extensively on both Indigenous and early colonial Great Lakes history. He is appointed as adjunct status at the University of Western Ontario and he is Chair of the board of the Museum of Ontario Archaeology in London. His primary interests are in the ancestral Wendat occupation of Ontario, the Early Woodland Period in the Northeast and more broadly in the origins and development of the northern Iroquoian cultural pattern.

Editor’s Note: “Iroquois du Nord” refers to a series of Haudenosaunee settlements in the 1660s-70s on the north shore of Lake Ontario. As Ron explains in episode 332, “Iroquois” was a European term assigned to Haudenosaunee peoples, which are comprised of the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and Tuscarora. To learn more, Richard Hill, a Tuscarora and a contributor to the book, discusses Haudenosaunee territory and archives in an interview with The Canadian Encyclopedia.

Enjoy the conversation? Listen to the rest of the series:

• Introduction to the Book and the Mystery
• Diving into Published Material, Site Locations, and Land Acknowledgements
• Artifacts, Border Theory, and Future Research

Check out our previous series with the University of Ottawa Press:
– Anthropocene Geopolitics
– Looking at Canadian Community Development
– What We Can Learn from a COVID-19 Spring

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