Iroquois
The Iroquois or Haudenosaunee are a historically powerful northeast Native American confederacy in North America. They were known during the colonial years to the French as the Iroquois League, and later as the Iroquois Confederacy, and to the English as the Five Nations, comprising th…
Do the Iroquois still exist today?
Modern Iroquois Iroquois people still exist today. There are approximately 28,000 living in or near reservations in New York State, and approximately 30,000 more in Canada (McCall 28).
What is the Iroquois tribe known for?
Iroquois people still exist today. There are approximately 28,000 living in or near reservations in New York State, and approximately 30,000 more in Canada (McCall 28). Iroquois Indians became known for their light foot and fearlessness in bridge constructuion, and helped build the bridge over the St. Lawrence River in 1886 (McCall 28).
Where did the Iroquois live in Canada?
Iroquois. The peoples who spoke Iroquoian languages occupied a continuous territory around Lakes Ontario, Huron, and Erie in present-day New York state and Pennsylvania (U.S.) and southern Ontario and Quebec (Canada). That larger group should be differentiated from the Five Nations (later Six Nations) better known as the Iroquois Confederacy...
How many people are of Iroquois descent?
Iroquois. Early 21st-century population estimates indicated some 80,000 individuals of Iroquois-proper descent; when including the many Iroquois-speaking tribes, those estimates indicated more than 900,000 individuals.
Are Iroquois extinct?
These tribes migrated to regions around the Mississippi River and the piedmont regions of the east coast. Other Iroquoian-language peoples, including the populous Wyandot (Huron), with related social organization and cultures, became extinct as tribes as a result of disease and war.
When did the Iroquois end?
During the American Revolution, the Oneida and Tuscarora sided with the American colonists while the rest of the league, led by Joseph Brant, fought for the British. The loyalist Iroquois were defeated in 1779 near Elmira, N.Y., and the confederacy came to an end.
Where is Iroquois live?
New York StateThe Iroquois originally lived near Lake Ontario and along the Mohawk River in New York State. Around 1600, five tribes -- the Mohawks, the Oneidas, the Onondagas, the Cayugas, and the Senecas -- banded together to form a confederacy.
What is the current population of the Iroquois?
The total population of Iroquois today is over 125,000. The Mohawk are the most numerous of the Iroquois nations, followed by the Oneida and Seneca.
Why did the Iroquois fall?
The Iroquois' biggest downfall was not retaining their pursuit of non- aggression that their Constitution laid out for them. By succumbing to European goods, letting in Brant and the British, and eventually taking up arms against white colonists, they secured their own downfall.
How did the Iroquois lose their land?
The Iroquois Confederacy later signed another treaty in 1768, also called the Treaty of Fort Stanwix, through which they relinquished their claims to land south of the Ohio River in an attempt to quell conflict between native peoples living there, such as the Delaware, Seneca-Cayuga, and Shawnee Tribes, and encroaching ...
What are the Iroquois now?
The Iroquois Today Some 17,000 Mohawk and over 11,000 Oneida live in the United States, in addition to around 10,000 people of Seneca or mixed Seneca-Cayuga heritage. Close to 10,000 Mohawk live in Canada, many on the St. Regis and the Six Nations reserves in Ontario and the Caughnawaga Reserve in Quebec.
How did Iroquois survive?
Iroquois sustained themselves through hunting, gathering, fishing, and farming. Women were responsible for the crops. They managed the growth and harvest of crops, and settlements moved every 10 to 30 years due to soil losing its nutrients.
Who conquered the Iroquois?
These wars were finally ended by a series of successful campaigns by New France's governor, the comte de Frontenac, against the Iroquois in 1693–96.
Did the Iroquois convert to Christianity?
Generally, most Iroquois men initially rejected Christianity and were opposed to their families embracing Christianity.
What are the 7 Indian nations?
The Seven Nations were located at Lorette, Wolinak, Odanak, Kahnawake, Kanesetake, Akwesasne and La Présentation. Sometimes the Abenaki of Wolinak and Odanak were counted as one nation and sometimes the Algonquin and the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) at Kanesetake were counted as two separate nations.
Are Iroquois and Mohawk the same?
The Mohawk are traditionally the keepers of the Eastern Door of the Iroquois Confederacy, also known as the Six Nations Confederacy or the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. Our original homeland is the north eastern region of New York State extending into southern Canada and Vermont.
When was the Iroquois law adopted?
It was adopted by American law in 1823 in the Supreme Court case Johnson vs. McIntosh, and never overturned. Recently, it was used in 2005 as part of a court decision to dismiss an Oneida land case. "We've just about exhausted our avenues in the U.S. courts," said Todadaho Sid Hill, the spiritual leader of the Iroquois.
Who is the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples?
The UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, James Anaya, made a similar statement, saying that: "Broken treaties must become a thing of the past.". The Netherlands is commemorating the Declaration of Rights for Indigenous Peoples on September 13 th and is planning to dedicate the event to the Two Row Wampum ...
Will the Onondaga settle for casinos?
The language used in publicity materials has been resolute: "The Onondaga will not settle for other methods such as casinos that have been used to resolve other Native American claims," the Onondaga Nation's website still reads. To an outsider, the fight might look futile.
What is an iroquois?
See Article History. Iroquois, any member of the North American Indian tribes speaking a language of the Iroquoian family —notably the Cayuga, ...
What tribes spoke Iroquois?
Iroquois, any member of the North American Indian tribes speaking a language of the Iroquoian family —notably the Cayuga, Cherokee, Huron, Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Seneca, and Tuscarora. The peoples who spoke Iroquoian languages occupied a continuous territory around Lakes Ontario, Huron, and Erie in present-day New York state and Pennsylvania ...
What was the conflict between the Iroquois and Huron based on?
The conflict between the Iroquois and Huron was based on trade rivalries that had existed before European settlement.
What was the effect of the French-Huron alliance on the Iroquois?
As the French-Huron alliance tightened, Iroquois hostility toward both parties increased, a case of traditional tribal trade rivalries being exacerbated by newer trade rivalries involving Europeans. The introduction of European weapons and the imperatives of the fur trade transformed the nature of warfare between First Nations peoples, which once had…
What is the Iroquois religion based on?
The elaborate religious cosmology of the Iroquois was based on an origin tradition in which a woman fell from the sky; other parts of the religious tradition featured deluge and earth-diver motifs, supernatural aggression and cruelty, sorcery, torture, cannibalism, star myths, and journeys to the otherworld.
What was the Iroquois's preference for meeting?
Iroquois speakers were fond of meetings, spending considerable time in council. Council attendance was determined by locality, sex, age, and the specific question at hand; each council had its own protocol and devices for gaining consensus, which was the primary mode of decision-making.
What is the longhouse family?
The longhouse family was the basic unit of traditional Iroquois society, which used a nested form of social organization: households (each representing a lineage) were divisions of clans, several clans constituted each moiety, and the two moieties combined to create a tribe.
How many Iroquois were there in 1990?
Altogether, there were over 50,000 Iroquois in the United States in 1990. Some 17,000 Mohawk and over 11,000 Oneida live in the United States, in addition to around 10,000 people of Seneca or mixed Seneca-Cayuga heritage.
Where are the Iroquois in the United States?
Most of the remaining Iroquois, except for the Oneida of Wisconsin and the Seneca-Cayuga of Oklahoma, are in New York; the Onondoga reservation there is still the capital of the Iroquois Confederacy. Large numbers of Iroquois in the United States live in urban areas rather than on reservations.
Where do Mohawks live?
Close to 10,000 Mohawk live in Canada, many on the St. Regis and the Six Nations reserves in Ontario and the Caughnawaga Reserve in Quebec. Many Cayuga, who were strong allies of the British, also live on the Six Nations Reserve, which is open to all members of the confederacy. Most of the remaining Iroquois, except for the Oneida ...
Overview
Society
For the Haudenosaunee, grief for a loved one who died was a powerful emotion. They believed that if it was not attended to, it would cause all sorts of problems for the grieving who would go mad if left without consolation. Rituals to honor the dead were very important and the most important of all was the condolence ceremony to provide consolation for those who lost a family member or friend…
Names
Iroquois, the most common name for the confederacy, is of somewhat obscure origin. Its first written appearance as "Irocois" is in Samuel de Champlain's account of his journey to Tadoussac in 1603. Other early French spellings include "Erocoise", "Hiroquois", "Hyroquoise", "Irecoies", "Iriquois", "Iroquaes", "Irroquois", and "Yroquois", pronounced at the time as [irokwe] or [irokwɛ]. Competing theories have been proposed for this term's origin, but none have gained widespread …
Iroquois Confederacy
The Iroquois Confederacy or Haudenosaunee is believed to have been founded by the Great Peacemaker at an unknown date estimated between 1450 and 1660, bringing together five distinct nations in the southern Great Lakes area into "The Great League of Peace". Other research, however, suggests the founding occurred in 1142. Each nation within this Iroquoian confederacy had a distinct …
History
Previous research, containing the discovery of Iroquois tools and artefacts, suggests that the origin of the Iroquois was in Montreal, Canada, near the St. Lawrence River, where they were part of another group known as the Algonquin people. After an unsuccessful rebellion, they were driven out of Quebec to New York.
Government
The Grand Council of the Six Nations is an assembly of 56 Hoyenah (chiefs) or sachems. Sachemships are hereditary within a clan. When a position becomes vacant a candidate is selected from among the members of the clan and "raised up" by a council of all sachems. The new sachem gives up his old name and is thereafter addressed by the title.
People
The first five nations listed below formed the original Five Nations (listed from east to west, as they were oriented to the sunrise); the Tuscarora became the sixth nation in 1722.
Within each of the six nations, people belonged to a number of matrilineal clans. The number of clans varies by nation, currently from three to eight, with a total …
See also
• Covenant Chain
• David Cusick
• Delaware/Lenape
• Economy of the Iroquois
• Ely S. Parker