While many individual members use american passports for convenience , the onondaga 's leaders do not accept federal grants , refuse to collect taxes on behalf of new york state and the federal government , and claim the right to travel without hindrance to tribal lands in canada .
A native american people formerly inhabiting the eastern finger lakes region of west-central new york , with present-day populations in this same area and in southeast ontario . The onondaga are one of the original members of the iroquois confederacy .