The Iroquois Confederacy Haudenosaunee Tribes Onondaga Mohawk Seneca Oneida Cayuga Tuscarora known as the Five Nations, or the League of Five Nations. After the Tuscarora joined in 1722, the confederacy became known to the English as the Six Nations and was recognized as such at Albany, N.Y. (1722).

The Forming of the Iroquois. Around 1570, Hiawatha (an Onondaga chief) and Dekanawida (a Mohawk Chief) decided to stop their tribes from fighting. The five nations formed the Iroquois League.

Iroquois Principles They would live in peace with each other. They would trade with each other. They would go to war TOGETHER. Each tribe elected Sachems to run the Confederacy. “We bind ourselves together by taking hold of each other’s hands. … Our strength shall be in union. … Carry no anger and hold no grudges”

The Iroquois Confederacy, possessed an "inclusive" character What about Europe? The Confederacy's decision-making processes were governed by a "constitution," the "Great Law.”

The Great Law Identified the rights of citizens, delineated the parameters of the powers of leaders, formalized societal decision-making processes, prescribed the conduct of foreign affairs. Provisions within the Great Law encouraged public participation in societal decision making.

Decision making not solely a male prerogative as in Europe. Women possessed influence and rights. Although members of the Grand Council were male, most had to be nominated by women of their extended family.

Political org bicameral (two-house) legislature, The representatives, or sachems, from the Seneca and Mohawk tribes met in one house and those of the Oneida and Cayuga met in the other.

Their society serves as an outstanding example of political and military organization, complex lifestyle, and an elevated role of women

What were the chief characteristics of the Iroquoian Peoples ?

The Iroquois call themselves Haudenosaunee meaning "people of the longhouse." They lived in and around the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Lowlands.

Long Houses 100 foot long houses that held 10-20 families. Each family had a section of the house. Women owned the longhouses and a husband would move into his wife’s mother’s longhouse.

Characteristics of the Iroquoians They were sedentary, Their villages were permanent in that they were moved only formilitary defensive purposes or when the soil became depleted (about every fifteen to twenty years).

Characteristics of the Iroquoians (cont’d) Agriculture provided most of the Iroquois diet. Corn, beans, and squash were known as "deohako" or "life supporters." The women owned and tended the fields under the supervision of the clan mother. Men usually left the village in the fall for the annual hunt and returned about midwinter. In the spring the men fished. Like the Algonquians, the Iroquoian religion was based on the worship of a great spirit who had power over the lives of all living things.

Iroquois Culture The “THREE SISTERS” of corn, beans and squash were farmed by the women. Deer, beaver, and moose were hunted by the men.

The effect of ENVIRONMENT No grazing land for herds. The forest provided wood Forest animals gave the Iroquois food and clothing They needed crops they could store for the long winter in a temperate climate. A short growing season allowed for the 3 sisters to grow.