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Iroquois Na+on 1
Iroquois League  Word “Iroquois” actually means “real adder” – or snake (Algonquian tribes).  Five tribes original members of League:  Seneca  Cayuga  Onondaga  Oneida  Mohawk  Tuscarora joined later, when migrated from South. 2
Subsistence  Cultivated foods central: maize, beans, squash (Three Sisters).  Tobacco also domesticated.  Women also collected wild plants for food and medicine.  Men hunted and fished.  Settled village life; no seasonal round. 3
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Se4lements and Homes  Villages located on hilltops – probably for good defensive position.  Structure of homes similar to wigwam, but extended greatly in length.  Longhouses could be as much as 400 feet long, and from 15 to 30 feet wide. 4
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Longhouse Plan
Longhouse Interior  Central corridor in longhouse, with fires for each family group.  Family lived on each side of the fire.  Upper and lower platforms for sitting, sleeping, and storage.  Also included storage bins for grain. 8
Birch Bark Container
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Feast Ladles
Kinship and Marriage  Strongly matrilineal culture; matrilocal in residence.  Longhouse led by senior woman; residents included her sisters and their husbands, daughters and families, and unmarried sons.  Matrilineal clans: Bear, Beaver, Deer, Hawk, Turtle, Wolf. 11
Parallel Cousins considered siblings
Cross-cousins called “Cousin.”
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Marriage Rules  Person required to marry outside own clan.  Clan crucial in social structure.  Clans managed property, use of fields and hunting grounds.  Most important role: selecting political leaders.  Matriarchy? Not really – balanced power. 13
Iroquois Cradleboard
Iroquois Moccasins
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Seneca Wolf
Comb
Religion  Source of best known art form, masks.  Great Spirit: most powerful, but neither omniscient nor omnipotent. Lesser spirits had role in the world, too.  Thunderer: brought rain  Spirit of the Winds: winds  Three Sisters of maize, beans, squash  Evil Spirit: brought trouble. 17
False Faces  Originally represented evil spirits, but over time have come to play role in curing.  False Faces represent spirit beings that live in trees, moving so rapidly that they cannot be seen except in dreams.  Masks carved from a living tree and hold spirit power of the figure they represent. Wood mask worn only by men. 18
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False Face Society  Keeper of the False Faces was a woman who kept the masks and knew the identity of all the members.  Keeper notified when someone needed assistance; called members together to plan a curing ceremony.  Members wore masks and blankets and carried turtle shell rattles.  Faces also appeared at ceremonies and dances, to drive illness and evil from village. 19
Onondaga Great
Defender Mask
Great Defender Mask
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Turtle Shell
Rattles
Seneca Doorkeeper
Mask
Onondaga Curing
Mask
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Onondaga Mask
Whistler Mask
Red-Black Mask
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Chief Cornplanter’s
Curing Mask
Iroquois Crooked Knife
Iroquois Corn Husk Face Masks
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Ceremonial Cycle  Ceremonies organized by Keepers of the Faith, selected by clan elders.  Six major ceremonies: Maple, Planting, Strawberry, Green Maize, Harvest, and New Year (in midwinter).  First 5 similar: public confession of wrongdoing, burning tobacco, prayers, dances, and feasts.  New Year: dream interpretations sought; designed to drive away evil and begin anew. 31
Poli+cal Life  League of the Iroquois (Hodenosaunee) was formed to end conflict between tribes.  Hiawatha, a Mohawk, had lost many family members to raiding.  Daganoweda had a vision of forming an alliance of the 5 tribes, but also had severe speech impediment. Hiawatha a skilled orator, so they combined to convince the 5 tribes to unite. 32
Hodenosaunee  League consisted of 50 permanent office, filled by representatives of the 5 tribes.  Reps called “Sachems” ‐ ‐ old growth tree.  Sachems always men, but appointed by female clan leaders.  Symbol of the League was the longhouse. 33
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Hodenosaunee
League Process  Primary purpose of the League was to sustain peace among the 5 tribes.  Limit: no power to enforce decisions; only function to seek consensus.  Orators stated various points of view and Sachems made decisions as representatives of their clans and tribes.  Constituents often met with Sachems to convey views. 35
Decision‐making  Consensus not always reached; weakness of the Iroquois League.  Example: could not agree whether to form alliance with the British or the colonists in the American Revolution. Each tribe made own alliances; result was to split league power and standing. 36
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Wampum: Washington Covenant Belt
and Hiawatha Belt.
Warfare  Much warfare in the northeast. Resource competition most likely explanation.  Scalping.  Cannibalism practiced before Hodenosaunee formed.  One thing not done: raping captive women.  Most warfare was raiding, not total destruction. 38
Women and Cap+ves  Widows of warriors killed in battle could select a replacement for a husband.  Women decided which captives were to be killed and which were to be spared and put into service as slaves.  Gauntlet required of prospective husbands. 39
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European Influence  French explorer Jacques Cartier – 1534.  Samuel Champlain – alliance with Algonquians (especially the Ojibwe) against the Iroquoians.  French, Dutch, and British all competed with each other in fur trade, to advantage of Iroquois. 40
Consequences of Trade  As fur trade escalated, Iroquois became more and more dependent on European trade goods: guns, ammunition, metal goods, and wool.  Introduction of alcohol a devastating social factor for Iroquois society. 41
Wars and Conquest  A series of wars between European powers in the east eventually left British in control after Seven Year’s War ended in 1756.  Iroquois tribe divided allegiance, but in good standing with British.  Revolutionary War posed a dilemma. British expected Iroquois support, based on past. The League failed to reach consensus, so remained neutral, with each tribe making its own decision. 42
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Revolu+onary War  Most Iroquoian tribes fought with the British. Colonists retaliated by destroying most towns, crops, and animals. Only 2 of 30 towns survived the war.  End of war: British made no provision for Iroquoians in the treaty, so lost most land in New York. Oneida and Tuscarora retained some land, but most forced to go to Canada, to form Six Nations Reserve. 43
Life in U.S.  Cultural differences crucial in interaction.  Farming methods:  Women planted, tended, and harvested, not men.  3 crops planted in same field – not single crop fields.  Fruit and nut trees left in fields.  Planted by hand – did not plow.  Europeans concluded Indians were incompetent farmers. 44
Handsome Lake  Chief Cornplanter, Seneca leader, had half‐
brother named Handsome Lake.  Vision during illness.  Handsome Lake created New Religion as result of this vision.  Heavy Quaker influence; extreme social consequences in adopting this religion. 45
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Life in Canada  Mohawk Chief Joseph Brant claimed land on the Grand River in Canada, in return for assistance to the British. Now the Six Nations Reserve.  Same social changes there as in U.S. – move away from matrilineal system, adoption of nuclear family and white farming methods.  Sachem system remained intact, but clan influence declined over time. 46
New Religion in Canada  Handsome Lake’s New Religion also adopted in Canada.  Conservative/progressive split developed between adherents to the New Religion which wanted to maintain traditional ceremonies and keep clans, and Christians who wanted to adopt wholly white way of life. 47
Skywalkers  Iroquoian men are especially known for their employment in the steel industry, as high steel workers.  Lack of fear of heights.  Mohawk men disproportionately represented in high steel in early days of construction.  33 Mohawk men killed in one bridge collapse; women insisted on more diverse work choices. 48
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Mohawk Headdress – Richard Glazer Danay
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