 At the invitation of the Onondaga Nation, one of the five nations of the Iroquois Confederacy, a group of Jesuit priests, soldiers, and coureurs des bois (including Pierre Esprit Radisson) set up a mission, known as Sainte Marie among the Iroquois, or Ste.Marie de Gannentaha, on the northeast shore of Onondaga Lake.Jesuit missionaries reported salty brine springs around the southern end of what they referred to as "Salt Lake", known today as Onondaga Lake in honor of the historic tribe.