ABOUT THE ONEIDA INDIAN NATION

The Oneida Indian Nation is an indigenous nation of American Indian people whose sacred and sovereign homelands are located in Central New York. The Nation was a key ally of the United States during the Revolutionary War, and it has been a cultural and economic anchor for the region. Through the diversified business enterprises it has successfully built in recent decades, the Oneida Indian Nation has become one of the largest employers in New York. It has also forged agreements with neighboring governments that have fortified the Nation’s sovereignty in perpetuity.

Today, the Nation is focused on reinvesting its revenues in initiatives to help guarantee a prosperous and sustainable future for its current Members and for future generations. The Nation’s government makes sure its people can achieve their highest potential in education, have access to quality health care, and can secure their economic future. It is also dedicated to providing legal, administrative and educational services to help protect its people’s sovereignty, homelands, culture and job opportunities.

MISSION, VISION & GOALS

Commitment to the Seventh Generation

The people and leadership of the Oneida Indian Nation have identified three principle, long-range goals to guide the community, as well as the economic development activities of the Nation, its administration and leadership.

The adopted long-range goals of the Oneida Indian Nation are as follows:

Help our Members achieve their highest potential in education, physical and mental health and economic development;
Implement the legal and administrative structure for the stability and protection of Nation sovereignty, treaty rights, and government to government relationships and;
Acquire, develop, and secure resources to achieve economic and social empowerment and self-sufficiency for the Oneida Indian Nation.

These long-range goals have been adopted by the Nation as a guide toward the accomplishment of a progressive dream. Simultaneously, the Nation plans to use the economic incentives available to a sovereign nation to inject new wealth and create jobs for both the Oneida community and the surrounding communities.

THE ONEIDA COMMUNITY TODAY

Welcome to the Oneida Indian Nation: The People of the Standing Stone

The Oneida Indian Nation is a federally recognized Indian nation in Central New York. It is a member of the Haudenosaunee, known in English as the Six Nations or Iroquois Confederacy. The word Haudenosaunee means “people of the longhouse.” The Oneida are known as the “people of the standing stone.”

Currently, the Oneida Indian Nation consists of approximately 1,000 enrolled Members, about half of whom still live on their homelands. Through ingenuity, tenacity and hard work, the Oneida people have created a wealth of new opportunities and hope for their Nation and the Central New York region. While holding fast to its traditions and culture, the Nation now enjoys a level of prosperity, through the success of its enterprises, that provides housing, education, health and cultural services to its Members.

The Oneida Indian Nation and Turning Stone Enterprises also provide stable employment and benefits for more than 4,500 workers, making the Nation the largest employer in the region. In addition, millions in Oneida Indian Nation payments are made annually under the historic agreement of 2013 to New York State and surrounding counties.

Through the Oneida Indian Nation Foundation and special gifts, reinvestment continues throughout the region and within Indian Country. The Oneidas have donated more than $20 million in the last 20 years to charities, schools and governments, including a $3 million endowment to the School of Law at Harvard University.