Case Study: The Iroquois Native Peoples Case Study: The Iroquois

HAUDENOSAUNEE People Building a Long House

Mohawk Iroquois Village

Iroquois Longhouse

The Iroquoian peoples of Ontario and New York built and lived in longhouses. Their houses are called longhouses because they were longer than they were wide. Longhouses have door openings at both ends. During the winter, these openings would have been covered with skins. There were no windows on the longhouse walls. We know this because the explorers and missionaries wrote that the insides of the houses were dark due to lack of windows. The longhouses were built by the men in the village. The wood for the houses was cut down in the spring when it was still flexible, and brought to the village. The ends of the posts were sharpened into points using stone axes, and some were charred, or burned, to make it last longer in the ground. The walls of the longhouse were made from elm bark that was cut into rectangular slabs to be used for roof shingles and wall siding.

Iroquois Confederacy or Iroquois League was made up of 50 members Iroquois Confederacy or Iroquois League was made up of 50 members. Each tribe sent represenatives to annual meetings. These reps were called Sachems. Sachems were chosen by the women of the tribe.

Matrilineal Inheriting or determining descent through the female line. How would a matrilineal society differ from a patrilineal society?

What is the Role of the Clan Mother? to arrange marriages counsel members select the male candidate for chief, monitor his actions and remove him from office if necessary. The Clan Mother's title rests within the clan and it is usually passed on to her female relatives, to one deemed most appropriate to become the next Clan Mother.

The rights of the women within a clan include the following: Descent of blood that determines citizenship. Possession of official titles for clan mothers, chiefs, faithkeepers, pine tree chiefs and war chiefs. Own the home and all of the furnishings. Children belong to her family. Use of clan lands. Food distribution . Right to nominate, confirm, and depose male chiefs. Right to adopt foreigners or prisoners. Power to forbid brothers and sons from going to war. Power to grant life or death of prisoners. Power to maintain the national resources. Right to burial grounds for brothers, daughters and sons.

The Great Law The Great Law brings together three inter-related concepts, that if properly implemented would assure peace among the member nations of the Confederacy. Together these principles make up the underlying beliefs that will unite humans.

Location Location Location!!!

The Three Sisters

Corn, beans and squash, The Three Sisters, were the principal crops of the Iroquois and other Native American groups in the northeastern United States, at the time Europeans arrived here about 1600. By this time, the Iroquois had been planting these three crops together for about 300 years. Corn, beans, and squash worked together to provide the staples for the Iroquois diet. Define staple in this context