Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) PDF

# Who were the Haudenosaunee? The Haudenosaunee, also known as the Iroquois, were a powerful group of Native Americans who lived in the Woodlands region of North America. ## The Woodlands Region * The Woodlands is a large geographic area in the northeastern part of the United States. * The Woodla...

# Who were the Haudenosaunee? The Haudenosaunee, also known as the Iroquois, were a powerful group of Native Americans who lived in the Woodlands region of North America. ## The Woodlands Region * The Woodlands is a large geographic area in the northeastern part of the United States. * The Woodlands include the five Great Lakes, the Finger Lakes, and the Saint Lawrence River. ## Early Life in the Woodlands The Woodlands Region offered many opportunities for early peoples to find food and shelter: * Abundant wild fruit trees: cherries, mulberries, figs, apples, pears, and peaches. * Plentiful fish, blueberries, strawberries, cranberries, and other wild vegetables. * Birch, oak, elm, fir, and maple trees for firewood and building materials. ## Haudenosaunee Nations and the League of Nations * Six Haudenosaunee Nations: Seneca, Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Tuscarora. * The Haudenosaunee Nations formed a League of Nations to ensure peace and cooperation. * The League of Nations was founded on the idea of having voice in government so all nations could be solved peacefully. * All six nations spoke the same language and shared the same customs. ### The legend of Hiawatha * The legend says that a Mohawk leader, Hiawatha, met with the great Haudenosaunee speaker, Dekanawida, to discuss peace between the nations. * Dekanawida convinced Hiawatha that the best way to bring peace was to form a new nation, a single Haudenosaunee Nation, where all the nations could have voice in government. ### The League of Nations Government The Haudenosaunee's philosophy was based on sharing and cooperation. They applied this philosophy to their daily lives, history, and government. * **Central Government:** The League of Nations. * **Written Constitution:** A set of rights and agreements recorded on wampums. * **Council:** Each Haudenosaunee Nation had a set number of seats in the Council. The Council's decisions were binding on every person in all Haudenosaunee Nations. * **Primary Purpose:** the Great Law of Peace, which stated that the Haudenosaunee Nations should not kill each other. ### Debate and Decision Making * The village council and tribal councils handled local and regional government decisions. * The League of Nations debated major issues. * Council speakers were known for eloquence and persuasiveness. ### Votes and Unanimous Decisions * The Haudenosaunee Nations had political groups that were akin to modern day political parties. * Each member's vote carried equal weight. * The Mohawk, Onondaga, and Seneca were "elder brothers," while the Oneida, Cayuga, and Tuscarora were "younger brothers." * All decisions required complete unanimity. ### The American Revolution * The clan mothers struggled to decide whether to fight with the colonists or the British. * The Haudenosaunee Nations tried to remain neutral but were ultimately divided. * Some villages fought on the side of the colonists, while others fought with the British. ### Borrowed Ideas * The early United States used the League of Nations as a model for their system of government. # Village Life ## Villages and Cooperation * The Haudenosaunee lived in villages based on the idea of cooperation. * All members of the village shared food, even in times of hardship. ## Clans and Families * Haudenosaunee tribes were divided into family groups called clans. * Members of a family clan could not marry each other. * When a man married, he joined his wife's clan. * Children were members of their mother's clan. * Clan mothers oversaw all aspects of clan life. ## Sacred Trees * The Haudenosaunee believed that the animals and plants were their helpers, but they were still sorrowful when they had to take a life. * They honored the forest by taking only what they absolutely needed and avoiding waste. * Every part of the trees was used for building, cooking, and other purposes. ## Longhouses * Longhouses: The Haudenosaunee built longhouses for housing and community living. * Longhouses were very large and could be over 200 feet long, 25 feet wide, and 25 feet high. * Building longhouses required a considerable amount of time and material. * The Haudenosaunee used every part of every tree and material to build longhouses. * The Haudenosaunee constructed a framework for their longhouses using long wood poles. * The Haudenosaunee used young trees tied together to form the shape of the longhouses. * The Haudenosaunee used bark to cover the longhouse. * The Haudenosaunee left space for smoke holes and doors, which they covered with flaps. * The Haudenosaunee added to their longhouses as needed to make them larger or longer. * Many longhouses had a high fence that protected their occupants. * Many families lived together in a single longhouse. * Families had their own space and fireplace in the longhouse. * The Haudenosaunee called themselves the "People of the Longhouse" because of the importance of their longhouses. # Marriage and Family Life * The Haudenosaunee believed in mutual consent for marriage. * The husband did not have authority over his wife. * A woman could leave her husband if she desired to do so. * Wives owned the longhouses and men moved into their wives' longhouses. * Children belonged to their mother's clan. * Men went out to hunt and farm. * Women were in charge of the longhouse, gardened, raised children, and prepared food. # Clan Mothers * Clan mothers had power within their clan. * Clan mothers selected Council members. * Clan mothers provided advice to Council members. * Clan mothers could dismiss council members if they made poor decisions. # Haudenosaunee Warriors * Haudenosaunee men cleared fields and built and repaired longhouses. * The men hunted, traded, and prepared for war. * The men built a variety of weapons, including: bows and arrows made of hickory or ash wood, blowguns and darts, spears, etc. # Haudenosaunee Battle Techniques * The Haudenosaunee taught colonists valuable lessons in the strategies of warfare that used geography and guerilla tactics. * The Haudenosaunee were known for their ability to blend into the landscape and attack quickly. * Colonists used the techniques they learned from the Haudenosaunee in their battles against the British. ## Food * The Haudenosaunee relied on agriculture for the majority of their food supply. * The Haudenosaunee developed tools to help with farming: wooden rakes and wooden spades. * Haudenosaunee women owned the land and were responsible for farming and tending crops. * The Haudenosaunee grew corn, squash, beans, pumpkin, melon, and tobacco. * The Haudenosaunee held annual festivals to give thanks to their gods for the harvest. ### Three Sisters Succotash * The Haudenosaunee mixed corn, beans, and squash together to make a dish called succotash. ### Boiled Corn Bread * The Haudenosaunee made corn flour by pounding corn. * The Haudenosaunee made cornbread by mixing corn flour with water and sometimes beans, berries, or nuts. * The Haudenosaunee boiled the cornbread in a pot of water. * Once the cornbread floated, the Haudenosaunee served it hot or cold. ## Wild Foods * Women and children foraged for nuts, fruits, vegetables, mushrooms, and eggs. * The Haudenosaunee used sunflower oil to cook food, treat wounds, and put on their skin to protect against the cold. * Men hunted wild game, such as bear, elk, deer, rabbit, wolf, turkey, duck, and birds. * Men hunted turtles for their meat and shells. * Men fished with huge fishing nets. * The Haudenosaunee shared all of their food with each other. ## Storing Food * The Haudenosaunee were very efficient about storing food. * The Haudenosaunee dried and stored fish. * The Haudenosaunee stored food on rafters in their longhouses. * The Haudenosaunee stored food inside buried clay pots lined with bark. * Food was stored in pits inside and near longhouses. ## Clothing * The Haudenosaunee wore animal skins in the form of leggings, shirts, moccasins, smocks, dresses, and skirts. * The Haudenosaunee dyed porcupine quills to decorate their clothing. * The Haudenosaunee women wore their hair long. * The Haudenosaunee warriors wore their hair in a Mohawk (a single braid) and scraped all body hair off of their bodies. * The Haudenosaunee men and women decorated their bodies with tattoos ## Travel * The Haudenosaunee did not use wheeled vehicles or ride animals. * The Haudenosaunee traveled via canoe or on foot. ## Wampum * The Haudenosaunee used wampum to record important information. * The Haudenosaunee did not use wampum as currency. * The Haudenosaunee used wampum as a symbol of position and title. * The Haudenosaunee used wampum as a means of making a promise or agreement. ### Making Wampum: * The Haudenosaunee used shells or beads to make wampum. * The Haudenosaunee dyed the shells or beads purple, cream, or both. * The Haudenosaunee made wampum by arranging beads in a specific order. * The Haudenosaunee used wampum to create records. ## Celebrations, Festivals & Games * The Haudenosaunee had many celebrations and festivals. * The Haudenosaunee believed in expressing gratitude for all that they had. * One important festival was the Green Corn Festival. * The Haudenosaunee celebrated the Green Corn Festival in late summer or early fall. * The Green Corn Festival was held to celebrate the harvest and give thanks to their gods. * The Haudenosaunee planted corn, beans, and squash as three staple foods. ### Lacrosse * The Haudenosaunee loved to play lacrosse. * Teams used a stick with a net on one end to control the ball and score. * The object of the game was to score goals. * The Haudenosaunee played lacrosse for fun and to improve their skills. ## Snow Snake Games * The Haudenosaunee played snow snake games in the winter after returning from a year's hunt. * Snow snake games were a popular team sport. * The Haudenosaunee carved a "snake" out of wood. * The Haudenosaunee dragged a log through the snow to create a path for teams to throw their snakes. * The team that traveled the furthest distance won.