Oskanondonha
Encyclopedia
Oskanondonha was an Oneida
Oneida tribe
The Oneida are a Native American/First Nations people and are one of the five founding nations of the Iroquois Confederacy in the area of upstate New York...

 "pine tree chief". He was born an Iroquoian-speaking Susquehannock
Susquehannock
The Susquehannock people were Iroquoian-speaking Native Americans who lived in areas adjacent to the Susquehanna River and its tributaries from the southern part of what is now New York, through Pennsylvania, to the mouth of the Susquehanna in Maryland at the north end of the Chesapeake Bay...

(also called Conestoga) but was adopted into the Oneida people. Alternate spellings for his name include Skenando, Skenandoa, Skonondon, and Shenandoah. When he accepted Christianity, he was baptized as John.

During the colonial years, he supported the English against the French in the Seven Years War. Later, during the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...

, he supported the colonials and led a force of 250 Oneida and Tuscarora warriors in western New York in their support. A longtime friend of the minister Samuel Kirkland
Samuel Kirkland
Rev. Samuel Kirkland was a Presbyterian missionary among the Oneida and Tuscarora people in North America. Kirkland graduated from Princeton in 1765. On September 20, 1769, Samuel Kirkland married Jerusha Bingham in Windham, Connecticut...

, a founder of Hamilton College, his request to be buried next to him was granted. In the procession at the funeral of Skenando were Oneida, students and officers from Hamilton College, Mrs. Kirkland and her family, and many citizens of Clinton, New York
Clinton, New York
Clinton is the name of several places in New York State:*Clinton, Clinton County, New York*Clinton, Dutchess County, New York*Clinton, Oneida County, New York*Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, also known as "Clinton"...

.

Life

During the Seven Years War (also called the French and Indian War
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...

 in the United States), the chief Skenando favored the British against the French and led the Oneida in their support. He was said to have saved colonists in German Flatts
German Flatts, New York
German Flatts is a town in Herkimer County, New York, United States. The population was 13,629 at the 2000 census.The Town of German Flatts is in the south part of Herkimer County, across from the of Village of Herkimer on the south side of the Mohawk River, and southeast of Utica.-Herkimer:This...

 from a massacre. During the next decades, he formed more alliances with the ethnic German and British colonists in central and western New York. He was notable for his height, estimated to be 6'5" and was said to have a commanding presence.

Samuel Kirkland
Samuel Kirkland
Rev. Samuel Kirkland was a Presbyterian missionary among the Oneida and Tuscarora people in North America. Kirkland graduated from Princeton in 1765. On September 20, 1769, Samuel Kirkland married Jerusha Bingham in Windham, Connecticut...

, a missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...

 minister who first went to the Iroquois country of western New York in 1764, encountered Chief Skenando there and mentioned him in letters. Kirkland returned to the area in 1766 and worked with the Oneida for the remainder of his life. After Kirkland persuaded the chief to become baptized, Skenando took the name "John". Many of the Oneida converted to Christianity before the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...

.

In part due to his friendship with Kirkland, Chief Skenando favored the colonials and led the Oneida to be their allies during the Revolutionary War. He led many Oneida to fight against the British and their Iroquois allies from four nations of the Confederacy. He commanded 250 warriors from the Oneida and Tuscarora tribes. Today the silver pipe given to him in appreciation in the 1800s by New York Governor Daniel D. Tompkins
Daniel D. Tompkins
Daniel D. Tompkins was an entrepreneur, jurist, Congressman, the fourth Governor of New York , and the sixth Vice President of the United States .-Name:...

 is displayed at Shako:wi, the Oneida Nation museum at their reservation near Syracuse.

Together with their warriors fighting against the British and allies from Pennsylvania to the Canadian border, the Oneida oral tradition tells that Chief Skenando provided critical food to General George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...

 and his men during their harsh winter at Valley Forge
Valley Forge
Valley Forge in Pennsylvania was the site of the military camp of the American Continental Army over the winter of 1777–1778 in the American Revolutionary War.-History:...

 in 1777-1778 by sending them corn. Washington is said to have named the Shenandoah River
Shenandoah River
The Shenandoah River is a tributary of the Potomac River, long with two forks approximately long each, in the U.S. states of Virginia and West Virginia...

 and valley in his honor. In addition, Polly Cooper, an Oneida woman, aided the troops by teaching them how to cook corn properly and care for the sick. Washington gave her a shawl in thanks, which is displayed at Shako:wi.

Skenando was the father-in-law of the Mohawk war leader Joseph Brant
Joseph Brant
Thayendanegea or Joseph Brant was a Mohawk military and political leader, based in present-day New York, who was closely associated with Great Britain during and after the American Revolution. He was perhaps the most well-known American Indian of his generation...

, who allied with the British during the revolution. Brant had Skenando jailed at Fort Niagara
Fort Niagara
Fort Niagara is a fortification originally built to protect the interests of New France in North America. It is located near Youngstown, New York, on the eastern bank of the Niagara River at its mouth, on Lake Ontario.-Origin:...

 in 1779 during the war when the Oneida was on a peace mission to the Iroquois. Skenando or Shenandoah is claimed as an ancestor by the Oneida singer Joanne Shenandoah.

After the war, Kirkland continued to be involved with the Oneida. About 1791 he started planning a seminary
Seminary
A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of secondary or post-secondary education for educating students in theology, generally to prepare them for ordination as clergy or for other ministry...

, a boys' school to be open to Oneida as well as European-American young men of the area. In 1793 he received a charter from the state for the Hamilton Oneida Seminary, and in 1794 completed its first building, known as Oneida Hall. By 1812, the seminary developed into the four-year institution known as Hamilton College.

Upon the death of Skenando, at his wish (and with the Kirkland family's approval) he was buried beside his friend (who had died in 1808) on the grounds of Kirkland's home in Clinton, New York
Clinton, New York
Clinton is the name of several places in New York State:*Clinton, Clinton County, New York*Clinton, Dutchess County, New York*Clinton, Oneida County, New York*Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, also known as "Clinton"...

. Today the property is known as Harding Farm
Harding Farm
Harding Farm is a historic site west of the village of Clinton in Oneida County, New York, United States. It is located on New York State Route 233 and is situated south of the junction of NY 233 and New York State Route 412....

. As a measure of the respect for the chief, the procession at his funeral in 1816 included his one surviving son and other Oneida people, students and officers from Hamilton College, the widow Mrs. Kirkland and other members of her family, and numerous citizens.. In 1851, both bodies were reinterred in the cemetery of Hamilton College, of which Kirkland was a co-founder.

Legacy and honors

  • A monument to Skenando was erected by the Northern Missionary Society at the cemetery. Its long inscription recognizes his leadership, friendship with Kirkland, and important contributions to the colonists during the war.
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