The term "Mingo" comes from "Menkwa," used by the Algonquin to describe Iroquoian speakers. It later referred to Six Nations members living outside New York. Europeans adopted and spelled it "Mingo."

Shikellamy, an Oneida, was sent by the Six Nations to oversee Iroquois land in Pennsylvania. His son, Chief Logan, became known as a Mingo. Tanacharison, a Seneca, also led a mixed Mingo village in western Pennsylvania.

Mingos weren’t a single tribe but a mix of Native groups. Seen as enemies by European-Americans during Ohio Valley conflicts, they became known through Chief Logan’s attacks and famous 1774 speech.

By the 1790s, many Mingos moved west with other tribes. Their descendants today are the Seneca-Cayugas in Oklahoma.