ABSTRACT
In the mid 1660s, abatement of hostilities with New France and her native allies gave the Iroquois an opportunity to expand tribal territories and establish settlements on the north shore of Lake Ontario. In 1688 all the settlements lay abandoned after the Iroquois returned to their traditional homeland south of the lake. Cultural change and adjustment overshadow warfare, make the cross-cultural skirmishes pale by comparison, and yield a more accurate interpretation of Iroquois-Algonquian-French relations. The conservative extension of the Iroquois settlement system is also reflected in the restrained departure from any subsistence, trade, or other activity found in the traditional villages south of the lake. Migratory movements indicate the resiliency of the Iroquois system. Other contemporary native groups in the region were less efficient and organized. For the Iroquois, the move to the north shore and return to the homeland involved the relocation of thousands.
