Erie is a tribe of North American Indians who spoke a language from the Iroquois group . Their tribal name is derived presumably from the word Erielhonan , which means "long tail" and refers to the cougar ( Felis concolor ). The French called them “the people of the cat” ( French nation du chat ).
Eri was engaged in agriculture and waged constant wars against other Iroquois , who between 1653 and 1656 were able to defeat them, starting to use guns bought from Europeans . Subsequently, the Erie disappeared into the Iroquois who conquered their lands. According to their tribe, Lake Erie is named.
The Erie tribe, which migrated south and later terrified the Indians near Virginia and South Carolina, was known in the 17th century as the Westo .