To the North East of New York City on the side of the Catskill Mountains, lie the finger lakes. The area is a fertile, beautiful region of farmland and vineyards intersected by lakes that drain down to North Ontario.

The Finger Lakes region is a central part of the Iroquois homeland. The Iroquois tribes include the Seneca and Cayuga tribes, for which the two largest Finger Lakes are named. The Tuscarora tribe lived in the Finger Lakes region as well. The Onondaga and Oneida tribes lived at the eastern edge of the region, closer to their namesake lakes, Lake Oneida and Onondaga Lake. The sixth Iroquois tribe, the Mohawk, lived farther east. During colonial times, many other tribes moved to the Finger Lakes region, seeking the protection of the Iroquois. For example, remnants of several tribes of North Carolina, collectively called the Tutelo, moved to the town of Coreorgonel at the south end of Cayuga Lake near present-day Ithaca.