Timeline story
Erie, the Cat Nation
The Erie (Eriehronon, "people of the long tail"), called la Nation du Chat by the French, were an Iroquoian people whose homeland lay south of Lake Erie, in what is now western New York and northwestern Pennsylvania.
In the Beaver Wars the Haudenosaunee (Five Nations) attacked and dispersed the Erie around 1654–57. Many survivors were adopted into Haudenosaunee nations.
No source places the Erie in Kentucky. They appear here as context for the 1600s wars that the Six Nations later cited in claiming rights over the Ohio Valley.
Cite this story
Published . Last revised .
Chicago
Snowden, Shannon. "Erie, the Cat Nation." Kentucky History Drive. Published September 12, 2026. Last revised October 12, 2026. https://kyhistorydrive.com/stories/erie-the-cat-nation/.
MLA
Snowden, Shannon. "Erie, the Cat Nation." Kentucky History Drive, published 12 Sept. 2026, last revised 12 Oct. 2026, https://kyhistorydrive.com/stories/erie-the-cat-nation/.
Report a correction for Erie, the Cat Nation (opens in a new tab)