Oswegatchie people

In 1749, the Sulpicianmissionary,AbbéFrancois Picquet,built a fort where theOswegatchie Riverempties into theSt. Lawrence River(present-dayOgdensburg, New York). He invited theIroquoisto come toFort de La Présentationto learn aboutCatholicism.To settle atLa Présentation,families had to agree to livemonogamously,convert to Catholicism, give upalcoholand swear allegiance to France. By 1751, 396Haudenosauneefamilies, largelyOnondagawith someOneidaandCayuga,had settled in the area between Toniato Creek (now known as Jones Creek, inThousand Islands National Park) and theLong Sault.They came to be called the Oswegatchie. This was one of theSeven Nations of Canada.

While never allowed as a separate tribal member of theIroquois Confederation,the Oswegatchie were considered "nephews" because of their members' family ties to theSix Nations.When theSeven Years' Warbroke out between France and England, the Oswegatchie fought with the French on numerous raids in theOhio,ChamplainandMohawkvalleys, where they attacked British colonists.

After the British conquered the French in 1760, British soldiers were stationed atLa Présentation.They renamed itFort Oswegatchie.The Oswegatchie who remained there after the conquest swore allegiance to the British. They fought alongside them on raids on the Mohawk Valley against American rebel colonists during theAmerican Revolution.

In 1784, the Oswegatchie surrendered the frontage on the north shore of the St. Lawrence to the British, resettling at what is nowLisbon, New York.

After the end of the Revolutionary War, the British remained at the fort until 1796, and evacuated after the border between Canada and the United States was decided. European-American pioneers fromNew Englandand lowerNew Yorkstarted arriving in June 1796 and began settling the area. By 1806, United States troops drove the Oswegatchie out of their permanent settlement at Lisbon.Many families resettled at St. Regis (Akwesasne) and other native communities in Canada.