What type of society was the Iroquois?
Iroquois society was matrilineal; when a marriage transpired, the family moved into the longhouse of the mother, and family lineage was traced from her.
What was the Iroquois community like?
The Iroquois lived in villages with long wooden buildings called “longhouses.” Families would live together in the structures with extended family members. The Haudenosaunee viewed the concept of the longhouse like six families living under one roof, with each nation representing a family.
What type of social structures were in Iroquois?
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.
What are the social values of the Iroquois?
While the Haudenosaunee encompass traditional values like sharing labour and maintaining a duty to their family, clan and nation and being thankful to nature and the Creator for their sustenance, the Seventh Generation value takes into consideration those who are not yet born but who will inherit the world.
What are 3 fun facts about the Iroquois?
Interesting Facts about the Iroquois Up to 60 people would live in a single longhouse. As long as there was food, no one ever went hungry in a village as food was freely shared. There was a trail that connected the Five Nations called the Iroquois Trail. The Iroquois Great Council still meets today.
What did the Iroquois do to live?
The Iroquois people lived in longhouses. Longhouses were large wood-frame buildings covered with sheets of elm bark. The Iroquois of today live in modern houses and apartment buildings.
What kind of economy did the Iroquois have?
The economy of the Haudenosaunee (also known as Iroquois) historically was based on communal production and combined elements of both horticulture and hunter-gatherer systems. Some have described the Iroquois economy as primitive communism.
What was the Iroquois religion?
Gai'wiio, (Seneca: “Good Message”) also called Longhouse Religion, new religious movement that emerged among the Seneca Indians of the northeastern United States, one of the Six Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy, in the early 19th century.
Who held the most power in Iroquois society?
Men were the primary voices in leadership, but the women were the power behind them. Senior women of the tribe selected men to participate in Council sessions, which were the primary means of addressing community concerns.
What made the Iroquois tribe unique?
It was the strong sense of identity that was provided through wampum belts, ceremonial chants, daily customs, and oral historical tradition, that made the Iroquois unique.
What do the Iroquois value most?
The Iroquois people called themselves Haudenosaunee. They had a culture of respecting the Earth, and animals, and living in harmony with nature.
What is a unique cultural characteristic of the Iroquois people?
One of the culturally distinctive traits of the Iroquois people is that their family structure was matrilineal, which means it's based on the mother's family line.
What made the Iroquois tribe unique?
It was the strong sense of identity that was provided through wampum belts, ceremonial chants, daily customs, and oral historical tradition, that made the Iroquois unique.
What problems did the Iroquois face?
Throughout the 18th Century, the Haudenosaunee endured more disasters. European diseases, with smallpox worst among them, continued to devastate their population, even more lives were lost to trade wars.
Was the Iroquois tribe communal or hierarchical?
The Iroquois had an essentially communal system of land ownership.
What is the social structure of the Iroquois?
Social Structure. The social structure of the Iroquois is tied to their family structure. Iroquois society is matrilineal, which means that the family line is traced down from the female line. The Iroquois lived in longhouses, which could fit many members of the clan.
Where did the Iroquois live?
When people talk about the Iroquois, they're referring to a number of tribes that live in upstate New York and the providence of Ontario. The Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida, and Mohawk nations all came together to form the Iroquois Confederacy sometime between the 12th and 15th centuries CE.
How many tribes are there in the Iroquois Confederacy?
Lesson Summary. The Iroquois, also called the Six Nations, refer to themselves as the Haudenosaunee and are made up of six tribes. They formed the Iroquois Confederacy between the 12th and 15th centuries, a Confederacy that used a bicameral system of government with sachems, or representatives. They are of the oldest participatory democracies (a ...
What was the role of the Iroquois Confederacy in the French and British wars?
The Iroquois Confederacy is known as a society with great military and political organization , and one where women have a critical role. 4:52.
What is the name of the tribe that Bailey taught?
Bailey teaches High School English, has taught history, and has a master's degree in Anthropology/Historical Archaeology. The Iroquois refer to themselves as the Haudenosaunee. Made up of six tribes, they formed the Iroquois Confederacy. A matrilineal society, the Iroquois Confederacy has a strong sense of gender equality ...
Why did the Iroquois move to the longhouse?
The family of the mother also educated the children, and if any Iroquois owned property, it was the women. This was because women were the ones who tended the land.
Which tribes met in one, the Oneida and Cayuga?
The Seneca and Mohawk tribes met in one, the Oneida and Cayuga in the other. Meanwhile, the sachems of the Onondaga had the power to veto the decisions of the other four. The Iroquois Confederacy remains the oldest participatory democracy, a democracy where the people are directly involved, in the world.
What were the Iroquois tribes?
Iroquois Confederacy, self-name Haudenosaunee (“People of the Longhouse”), also called Iroquois League, Five Nations, or (from 1722) Six Nations, confederation of five (later six) Indian tribes across upper New York state that during the 17th and 18th centuries played a strategic role in the struggle between the French and British for mastery of North America. The five original Iroquois nations were the Mohawk (self-name: Kanien’kehá:ka [“People of the Flint”]), Oneida (self-name: Onᐱyoteʔa∙ká [“People of the Standing Stone”]), Onondaga (self-name: Onoñda’gega’ [“People of the Hills”]), Cayuga (self-name: Gayogo̱hó:nǫ’ [“People of the Great Swamp”]), and Seneca (self-name: Onödowa’ga:’ [“People of the Great Hill”]). After the Tuscarora (self-name: Skarù∙ręʔ [“People of the Shirt”]) joined in 1722, the confederacy became known to the English as the Six Nations and was recognized as such at Albany, New York (1722). Often characterized as one of the world’s oldest participatory democracies, the confederacy has persisted into the 21st century.
How did the Iroquois differ from other American Indian confederacies in the northeastern woodland?
The Iroquois (Haudenosaunee) Confederacy differed from other American Indian confederacies in the northeastern woodlands primarily in being better organized, more consciously defined, and more effective. The Iroquois used elaborately ritualized systems for choosing leaders and making important decisions.
What were the names of the five Iroquois nations?
Leaders from five Iroquois nations (Cayuga, Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, and Seneca) assembled around Dekanawidah c. 1570, French engraving, early 18th century. From Second Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1880-1881, edited by J.W. Powell, 1883. The Iroquois (Haudenosaunee) ...
What tribes fought for the British out of Niagara?
During the American Revolution, a schism developed among the Iroquois. The Oneida and Tuscarora espoused the American cause, while the rest of the league, led by Chief Joseph Brant ’s Mohawk loyalists, fought for the British out of Niagara, decimating several isolated American settlements.
Where did the Six Nations settle?
Of the Six Nations, the Onondaga, Seneca, and Tuscarora, as well as some Oneida, remained in New York, eventually settling on reservations, the Mohawk and Cayuga withdrew to Canada, and, a generation later, a large group of the Oneida departed for Wisconsin, with still others settling in Ontario, Canada. Joseph Brant.
What were the Six Nations' enemies?
In the 18th century the Six Nations remained consistent and bitter enemies of the French, who were allied with their traditional foes. The Iroquois became dependent on the British in Albany for European goods (which were cheaper there than in Montreal), and thus Albany was never attacked.
What is the Iroquois culture?
Iroquois Culture. People. The Iroquois enjoy a rich and varied culture that is more of a melting pot. They have, in time, included captives to replace those lost in war and non-members, who were part of the vengeance strategy.
Why did the Iroquois survive?
Over the centuries the Iroquois people have survived because of their unity, sense of purpose, and superior societal organization. Until very recently many Iroquois considered themselves to be distinct from either Canadians or Americans.
What is the Iroquois Confederacy?
The Iroquois Confederacy or Haudenosaunee is unique in culture and religious beliefs. This 'League of Peace and Power' or 'People of the Longhouse' as they call themselves, are the result of a merger of the Onondaga, the Mohawk, the Oneida, the Seneca, the Cayuga and the Tuscarora natives.
What tribe guarded the western door?
For example, while the Seneca guarded the ‘western door’, the Mohawk protected the ‘eastern door’ and the Onondagas were guardians of the ‘central flame’. The Haudenosaunee have a common cultural and historical origin, and very slight differences in their languages. Typical Characteristics of the Iroquois Tribe.
What did the Iroquois people believe about Handsome Lake?
They show great respect and reverence at the mention of Handsome Lake, the Iroquois prophet. The Iroquois people are of the view that ordinary humans can indirectly communicate with the Great Spirit by burning tobacco, which carries their prayers to the lesser spirits of good.
What tribes were in the Longhouse?
This ‘League of Peace and Power’ or ‘People of the Longhouse’ as they call themselves, are the result of a merger of the Onondaga, the Mohawk, the Oneida, the Seneca, the Cayuga and the Tuscarora natives . The origin of the Iroquois tribe dates back centuries, much before the Europeans settlers first arrived on North American soil.
What are the fish that the Iroquois eat?
In fish, their preferences are for salmon, bass, trout, whitefish and perch. Festivals. Most of their festivals coincide with events in agriculture, like the Iroquois harvest festival of Thanksgiving.
What did the Iroquois teach their children?
Children were taught to be strong and brave, to never complain, to walk quietly, and always be obedient (Kalman 20-21).
What were the Iroquois men?
Iroquois Men. Men were the warriors, tradesmen, and hunters (Kalman 18). From a young age boys were taught to be brave and refuse fear and pain. They were responsible for protecting their families from raiding Indian tribes and from animal attacks.
What were the roles of women in the Iroquois Confederacy?
Women were listened to. During the day it was a woman's job to take care of the longhouse. They were responsible for tending to the gardens, collecting food, and preparing meals (Kalman 19). They also made many household objects for the longhouses, such as: baskets, pottery, clothing, storage items, and cradleboards (Kalman). It was the woman's job to take care of the children when they were young; and when young girl's were old enough they would work beside their mothers and learn from them how to take care of the longhouse.
How did Elders teach children?
Elders would teach the children through stories. When a child was misbehaving, they were told a story with the moral they needed to hear. Sometimes, a child was punished by being put out of the longhouse where a clan member was waiting in a mask to scare him/her into obedience (Doherty 32).
Did men go out to trade with other Iroquoian speaking nations?
Additionally, men would go out to trade with other Iroquoian-speaking nations (Kalman 18). Although women chose the sachems, only men were delegates of the Iroquois Confederacy. ELDERS. Old men and women alike were also protected by the men.
