The trunk of the white pine is white and ends with four roots, the white represents purity while the four roots spread to the four directions of Mother Earth. It bears the great tree of the Oneida in the center and pictured upon it are three clan totems, a wolf, bear and turtle. The tree is topped by an eagle with wings outstretched. The eagle is the national bird of the United States and the Iroquois. Its placement symbolizes that it is watching out for the Oneida and will scream out a warning of any impending danger.
All totems appear in black.
By 1987 the Oneida were reduced to sharing a reservation with the Onondaga and having a small 32 acre unrecognized reservation for themselves. Despite the reduction of the Oneida to just 32 acres, they remain proud of their long history of cooperation with the United States. This is still a far cry from the nearly 270,000 acres they ruled in the 1700s, but a major leap forward for the Oneida. The Oneida and the sixth member of the Iroquois League, the Tuscarora who joined in 1722, were the only members to side with the United States in its fight for independence. Today the Oneida continue to seek the restoration of lost lands and an improving way of life for their kinsmen.