Erie are a Native American people who lived in what is now northern Ohio, New York, and Pennsylvania. Their lands included the region along the southern shores of Lake Erie, which is named for them. The name Erie comes from an Iroquois word meaning long tail. That word referred to a mountain lion. Erie leaders wore robes made from the skins of mountain lions.
Erie villages were widely scattered and included several rectangular dwellings called longhouses. Each longhouse held several families united in a single clan. The Erie built tall wooden fences called palisades around villages to protect them from attack. The Erie grew corn, beans, squash, and sunflowers. Men also fished and hunted for food and trapped beaver and other animals for fur.
The Erie were important suppliers in the fur trade in the early 1600’s. They supplied furs to eastern tribes, including the Huron and Seneca. The Huron traded directly with French explorers in what is now Eastern Canada. The Native Americans traded furs for such goods as tools and weapons, including firearms. However, the Huron kept the Erie from obtaining firearms.
In 1648, the Erie fought a fierce war against the Seneca, who were part of a confederation of tribes known as the Iroquois League, which once occupied most of what is now New York state. The Seneca subdued the Erie and absorbed their lands and people to control the fur trade. By 1656, many Erie people had been killed or adopted into the Seneca or other Iroquois League tribes, particularly the Huron. Other Erie were adopted by nearby tribes, including the Susquehannock. Today, many members of these tribes trace their family history back to Erie ancestors.
