The Map of

America

Maps

 Hampton's Native American

orchestra, ca. 1900

History of the Onondaga County

The town of Onondaga had its
name from its Indian inhabitants,
people of the great hill or
mountain
The Onondagas were one of the
powerful tribes in New York
As early as 1648 the location of
this tribe of Indians was known
and described; a dozen years
before this both the Dutch and
French had dealings with them;
Champlain is supposed to have
attacked an Onondaga village in
1615, but this is doubtful,

While there were many who

settled here before the
Revolution, the great
development of the county area
did not begin until after that
great event. In concluding
peace with this new nation, the
English made no provision for
their Indian allies
In 1784 the great council at
Fort Stanwix was held and an
endeavor made to placate the
tribes was unsuccessful. But
two years later a treaty was
made at the same place
whereby the Onondagas ceded

 When counties were established

inNew Yorkin 1683, the present
Onondaga County was part of
Albany County
Onondaga had organized as a
county on June 6, 1794.

 One solution for dealing with

Indigenous peoples was to
civilize them.
Reservation schoolswere created
with funding from the US
government and often the support
of Christian missionaries.
Their purpose was to inculcate the
Indian with white culture and
prepare him for life among
European Americans
to Kill the Indian in him, and sav
e the man.

In addition, numbers of Indigenous

Hampton Institute seemed a good

fit for them. It was founded in 1868
by General Samuel Armstrong,
who commanded colored troops
during the Civil War. Armstrong
had proposed the Institute as a
way to to prepare colored
teachers for southern schools;
teachers who will cost less than
white

 Indian students were enrolled at

Hampton from 1878 through
1923. The first group to come
were prisoners of western
Indians wars who were being
held in St Augustine, FL. More
(non-captive) students came as
time passed.
Black and Indian students took
classes together, although there
were segregated classes for
Indian students who needed to
build their English speaking
skills.

Hampton's Indian program died

with a whimper in 1923, when
Caroline Andrus, the director of
the program, resigned because
she felt she could no longer
prevent "amalgamation"
between Indians and blacks