Freaking wagon burners
John Skenandoa (c. 1706 - March 11, 1816), also called Shenandoah among other forms, was an elected 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.
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. 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.
The Oneida oral tradition tells that Chief Skenandoa provided critical food, sending corn to General George Washington and his men during their harsh winter at Valley Forge in 1777-1778. Washington is said to have named the Shenandoah River and valley in his honor, and subsequently numerous other places in the United States were named Shenandoah. He is also referred to in the title and lyrics of the folk song “Oh Shenandoah”.
A monument to Skenandoa was erected by the Northern Missionary Society at the Hamilton College cemetery. Its inscription recognizes his leadership, friendship with Kirkland, and important contributions to the rebel colonists during the war.
2002, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the Oneida County Historical Society.
Besides his extraordinarily long life, he stood 6’ 5’’. He would be ashamed of the whingers who claim to speak for his tribe today.