Tadodaho

Tadodaho was a Native American Hoyenah (sachem) of the Onondaga nation before the Deganawidah and Hiawatha formed the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, or "Iroquois League". According to oral tradition, he had extraordinary characteristics and was widely feared, but he was persuaded to support the confederacy of the Five Nations.

His name has since been used as the term, Tadodaho, to refer to the chief chosen to preside over the Grand Council of the Haudenosaunee League. By tradition, as the Onondaga are the "keepers of the council fire", the chief is chosen from that nation. The position is the most influential Haudenosaunee chief in New York State, where the Six Nations confederacy historically had the most influence. This meaning of the term has been used for centuries.

Legend of Tadodaho Tadodaho was said to be a warrior and primary chief of the Onondaga people. Depending on the speaker's dialect and the writer's orthography, other versions of the name include Adodarhoh, Atartaho, Atotarho, Tatotarho, Thatotarho, and Watatohtahro. In the 1883 work The Iroquois Book of Rites, edited by Horatio Hale, the term Atartaho is said to signify "entangled". In 1889, J. N. B. Hewitt recounted an Haudenosaunee tale which refers to Tadodaho as a "misshapen monster". He is said to have had a "twisted body" and could kill his enemies from a distance without seeing them.

Peace among the nations of the Haudenosaunee was delayed due to fear of Tadodaho. According to legend, all the chiefs were persuaded except for Tadodaho, who was seen as a hindrance to the Great Law of Peace; he quashed three attempts by Hiawatha to initiate peace discussions among the nations. Hiawatha's daughters' deaths were ascribed to Tadodaho's powers. When they arrived at Canandaigua Lake, they convinced the Seneca people to join their cause of peace. In one recounting of the story, Jigonhsasee herself spoke privately with Tadodaho. Hiawatha combed the matted portions out of Tadodaho's hair, and Deganawidah massaged Tadodaho's body with herbs and wampum, and smoothed out the seven crooks in Tadodaho's body. The final steps toward peace were conducted at Onondaga Lake.

The Tadodaho legend continues to be told in Haudenosaunee society. It has come to refer to the chief who chairs the council of the Onondaga, called Tadodaho.

Term for spiritual leader The term Tadodaho later was used by the Haudenosaunee to refer to their most influential spiritual leader in New York State; it has been used in this way for centuries. The Tadodaho in New York State is the spiritual leader of the Haudenosaunee, Six Nations that includes the Cayuga, Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Seneca, and Tuscarora people. He presides over the Grand Council of the Haudenosaunee (also called Iroquois). The position of Tadodaho is a lifetime appointment. According to tradition, when the previous Tadodaho dies, a council of chiefs from the Haudenosaunee chooses a leader from the Onondaga people. Thomas said: "it was wrong for our grandfathers to give away the wampum. The wampum tells of old, old agreements and passes on the thoughts of our grandfathers. We would like to see them. Our people would like to touch them." He was highly respected for his spiritual leadership and, when he died in 1996, his death was mourned by Native Americans across the United States.

In 2002, Sidney Hill was selected as the Tadodaho. The ownership assertion by the Onondaga included land along Lake Ontario from the Thousand Islands through Syracuse, to the border of Pennsylvania, and including Onondaga Lake. Hill wanted to highlight the desire of his people to see Onondaga Lake restored to environmental health.

In May 2013, Tadodaho Hill sent a letter to several Haudenosaunee communities in an effort to guide their relation to the Confederacy and its traditional principles. He (and others) have opposed the Oneida Nation of New York's May 16, 2013 agreement with New York State that would involve the tribe's putting their land in trust, accepting New York taxes, and additional New York jurisdiction over their affairs, as part of a deal to gain gambling. (According to Doug George-Kanentiio, a Mohawk journalist, this tribe is not officially part of the Haudenosaunee, as it did not exist when the Confederacy was formed.)