 The first Iroquoian peoples -- the Mohawk (or Kanyengehaga) and the Oneida (or Oneyotdehaga) -- arrived in the Adirondack region between 4,000 and 1,200 years ago.Both groups claimed the Adirondack Mountains as hunting grounds.According to Haudenosaunee historian Rick Hill, the region was considered a 'Dish with One Spoon,' symbolizing shared hunting resources between the groups.