A GUIDE FOR
TEACHERS
O’h ya,’h ohdiwenago,h
Through the Voices of Beads
Continuing Traditions in Iroquois Culture
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What will I be able to achieve?
Provide curriculum relevant, hands-on experiences at the grade six level in
classes devoted to social studies.
The six themes developed as activity centres for the students have relevant links to the
curriculum, including: contact with Europeans, relationship to the environment, social and
cultural characteristics, trade, and achievements.
There is no preferred order to the six topics described below.
The activity centres focus on beadwork as a means of revealing a variety of aspects about
Iroquois culture now and in the past.
The reference pages called “More About the Iroquois” are intended to provide a context
relevant to all the activity centres.
Increase awareness, and develop an understanding of contemporary and
traditional Iroquois culture as revealed in the objects from that culture.
This school case contains objects and images that can be used to understand aspects of
Iroquois culture today and in the past.
Supplementary material in the form of an audio (compact disc) containing three stories:
“The Story of Creation”, “The Story of the Stone Giants and Their Defeat”, and “Why the
Corn Husk Doll Has No Face”, help to convey the importance of the spoken (not the written)
word in Iroquois culture. In addition to English or French, each story is also told in the
Cayuga language.
Connections among the six topics should encourage discussion among the students.
Develop the skills used in examining objects.
These objects are the real thing — authentic items made by the Iroquois today and in the
past.
Photographs of several artifacts from the Royal Ontario Museum’s collection and images
from the collection at the Woodland Cultural Centre expand the teaching potential for
learning about the Iroquois with objects from that culture.
By following the object-based activities at each centre, students will discover how artifacts
provide valid evidence about the past and the present.
The skills of examining objects can be acquired through activities by the full class, by
participation in small groups, and by independent study.
Develop an appreciation of artifacts as primary resources for
understanding a culture.
Each activity centre uses objects to illustrate the topic.
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The school case complements “Through the Voices of Beads” — a travelling exhibition from
the Royal Ontario Museum. Photographs of some of the artifacts in this exhibition are part of
the school case.
The school case also includes photographs and information about Iroquois collections in
other museums, reinforcing the idea that many people today appreciate and enjoy these
beadwork objects.
What topics are covered in the six activity centres?
Although each topic explores one main idea, the six topics are interconnected. Each topic
begins from the students’ point of view. Then the focus shifts to the Iroquois perspective and
indicates what an examination of the beaded objects and images will reveal.
Connecting the Generations
The Students’ Point of View
Beautiful Beadwork
When you look at Iroquois beadwork, what do you see? Perhaps you notice the colours, size,
and texture of the beads, or the way that a useful object is decorated with what appear to be
abstract patterns or images from nature.
The Iroquois’ Point of View
The Iroquois Perspective
To the Iroquois people, beadwork is a familiar technique used to decorate a useful object.
Nowadays, some items of beadwork are made as works of art. When bead workers today use
the same materials and skills as their ancestors, they are preserving an important tradition.
They feel connected to past and to future generations of bead workers.
The Iroquois People
The Students’ Point of View
Hidden Messages
When you look at the images and patterns on Iroquois beadwork, what do you see? Perhaps
you appreciate the arrangement of the patterns as an interesting design, or you like to look at
the plants and animals.
The Iroquois’ Point of View
Decoding the Symbols
Once you know the meaning of the symbols used in Iroquois beadwork, you will understand the
real meaning of the designs. In these examples of beadwork, you will discover some of the
history of the Six Iroquois Nations and how the people in Iroquois society are related to each other.
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The World Around Us
The Students’ Point of View
Looking at Nature
When you look at the natural world, what do you see? You may notice a variety of plants and
animals living together in the same environment. Perhaps you think of them as belonging to
particular groups, such as birds or insects. Do you ever think of how you fit into this world of
nature?
The Iroquois’ Point of View
Giving Thanks
As they give daily greetings to the natural world, the Iroquois think about the place of people
in this world of fish, plants, food plants, medicine herbs, animals, trees, and birds — the
categories of nature that they observe around them. Certain plants and animals are
considered to be the first among other plants and animals.
The Story of Creation
The Students’ Point of View
Understanding the World
When we try to understand how our world began and why it works the way it does, we might
explain it in different ways. Sometimes we use scientific observations and knowledge. We
could also use our spiritual or religious beliefs.
The Iroquois’ Point of View
Iroquois Beliefs
The Iroquois describe life and the order of the universe in several narrative stories and in
symbols that stand for the ideas of creation.
Corn Husk Dolls and Stone Giants
The Students’ Point of View
A Good Story
Do you have some favourite books? Perhaps you like certain kinds of stories, such as fantasies
or mysteries. Or you like to read stories that have a message or moral that reminds you of
people or events in your life. Or maybe reading is just an enjoyable way to spend your time.
The Iroquois’ Point of View
Iroquois Stories and Legends
When Iroquois children read or listen to traditional stories from their culture, they also have
favourites. Some are adventure stories, some have elements of surprise and fantasy, and
some warn what might happen to them if they do not behave. All the stories are entertaining.
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A Meeting of Cultures
The Students’ Point of View
Natives and Newcomers
When you meet someone from another place or culture, you and the other person might like
to trade for some items that are useful, different, or not easy to get at home. Similarly, from
the first Native contacts with the Europeans, about 500 years ago, there was trade for such
items as glass beads, steel needles, metal tools and objects, and cloth.
The Iroquois’ Point of View
The Beadwork Market
The Iroquois used the beads that they traded to decorate clothing and other items. Over the
years, the Europeans sometimes traded or received gifts of beaded items from the Iroquois.
By the 1850s, some Iroquois depended on making beadwork items for sale as a way to earn a
living for their families.
More About the Iroquois
This is not an activity centre. However it serves as reference pages applicable to all of the
activity centres. It answers the questions:
Where are the Iroquois people today?
Where is the traditional homeland of the Iroquois?
Who are the Three Sisters?
What is a Confederacy?
What is a Longhouse?
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How do I use the objects and activities?
The material provided in this school case allows for flexibility of learning experiences and
teaching opportunities.
Contents
The school case contains:
• a booklet for each activity centre
• objects and images associated with each activity centre
• two compact discs associated with two separate activity centres
• reference pages
Handling the Objects
The objects made of fabric, threads, and beads should be handled very gently so that they
stay in a stable condition. You and your students will help to keep the objects in good shape
for the next class that borrows the materials by:
• making sure your hands are clean and dry before touching the objects
• not poking or pulling at any of the threads, beads, or cloth
• placing the objects on a clean, dry, and unobstructed surface
• replacing the objects carefully in their proper location in the school case.
Arranging the Experiences
Although there is no preferred order to the activity centres, the activity about “Connecting the
Generations” provides the main ideas about Iroquois beadwork. You might choose to do this
activity with full class involvement.
If you wish to set up separate centres for group use, refer to the first page of each activity
centre to find out which objects and supplementary materials provided in the school case
belong to each centre.
You could make photocopies of the reference pages “More About the Iroquois” for use at
each activity centre.
You could also make photocopies of the activity booklets, if you would like each student to be
able to follow the steps that guide them through each topic.
Possible Arrangements:
With six groups of students, each group explores in detail one of the centres and then
reports back to the full class.
With six groups of students, each group moves from one centre to another in order
to use all the activity centres.
With two or three groups, each group explores three or two centres respectively.
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Self-Directed Learning Experiences
Each centre is based on a self-directed learning approach. Students will discover information
as they engage in the activities. They may follow the activities either as individuals or in small
groups. They may use any or all of the activity centres, and they may cross-reference the
resources from one activity to another. That is, they will be able to learn by themselves,
together in small groups of peers, by seeking additional information from other groups, and
by full classroom discussion.
Relevant Curriculum Guidelines
Social Studies Curriculum - Grade 6
The topics covered in this school case address several goals, objectives, and content for the
Grade 6 social studies curriculum.
Heritage and Citizenship: Grade 6 - First Nation Peoples and European
Explorers
Although the following expectations (excerpts from the current curriculum guidelines) seem
to refer to a study of the past, the curriculum document stresses the need to make
connections with present-day issues, achievements, and contributions by Native peoples. In
addition, the student is to explore viewpoints based on historical evidence.
Overall Expectations
Students will be able to:
• describe characteristics of pre-contact First Nation cultures ... including their close
relationships with the natural environment ... and the effects of contact on both the
receiving and the incoming groups.
• analyze examples of interaction between First Nation peoples and European
explorers to identify and report on the effects of cooperation and the reasons for
disagreements between the two groups.
Specific Expectations
Knowledge and Understanding — By the end of Grade 6, students will:
• describe the relationship to the environment of various First Nation groups … and
show how it affected their practices in daily life …
• compare key social and cultural characteristics of Algonquian and Iroquoian groups
(e.g., language;… governance; matriarchal and patriarchal societies; arts;
storytelling; trade; … roles of men, women, and children)
• identify the results of contact for both the Europeans and First Nation peoples …
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Inquiry / Research and Communication Skills — By the end of Grade 6, students will:
• formulate questions with a statement of purpose to develop research plans
(e.g., … What was the role of First Nation women in the fur trade?)
• select relevant resources and identify their point of view …
• identify and explain differing opinions about the positive and negative effects of
early contact between European and First Nation peoples (e.g., growth of
First Nation peoples’ dependency on trade goods …)
• use and construct a variety of graphic organizers to clarify and interpret information
(e.g., cause-and-effect diagrams linking the environment and First Nation cultures,
mind maps to connect the results of early contact …)
Application — By the end of Grade 6, students will:
• explain how cooperation between First Nation groups and early European explorers
benefited both groups (e.g., Europeans gained medical knowledge, survival skills,
and geographic knowledge from First Nation peoples; First Nation peoples
acquired products of European technology …; military alliances helped both groups
against a common enemy)
• identify achievements and contributions of Aboriginal people in presentday Canada…
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