Skenandoa

John Skenandoa (/ˌskɛnənˈdoʊə/; c. 1706^[1] – March 11, 1816), also called Shenandoah (/ˌʃɛnənˈdoʊə/) among other forms, was an elected chief (a so-called "pine tree chief") of the Oneida. He was born into the Iroquoian-speaking Susquehannocks, but was adopted into the Oneida of the Iroquois Confederacy. When he later accepted Christianity, he was baptized as "John", taking his Oneida name Skenandoa as his surname. Based on a possible reconstruction of his name in its original Oneida, he is sometimes called "Oskanondonha" in modern scholarship. His tombstone bears the spelling Schenando (/ˈʃɛnəndoʊ, ˈskɛn-/).

During the colonial years, Skenandoa supported the English against the French in the Seven Years' War. Later, during the American Revolutionary War, he supported the colonials and led a force of 250 Oneida and Tuscarora warriors in western New York in their support. He met George Washington, who wrote at least one letter of recommendation for him.^[2]

A longtime friend of the minister Samuel Kirkland, a founder of Hamilton College, his request to be buried next to Kirkland was granted. In the funeral procession at the death of Skenandoa together were Oneida, students and officers from Hamilton College, Kirkland's widow and her family, and many citizens of Clinton, New York.