The Betrayed Native Allies
The Oneida Nation supported American revolutionaries with food and military intelligence during the Revolutionary War. Chief Shenandoah’s people provided corn to Washington’s starving army at Valley Forge in 1777-78. They expected respect and protection in return. Instead, Washington later ordered the destruction of Iroquois villages, including Oneida allies, during the 1779 Sullivan Expedition. This betrayal accelerated Native American dispossession. By 1800, the Oneida had lost 95% of their ancestral lands.
