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Iroquois Tribe Presented by: Tara Tuttle and Katherine Finch
What do you think of when you hear the
words...
NATIVE AMERICANS
Group Name & Motto Group Name: The Iroquois League
Iroquois is pronounced "eer-uh-kwoy" in English. It's an English corruption of
a French corruption of an Algonkian word meaning "real snakes." This may
have been an insulting nickname (the Algonkian and Iroquois Indians were
traditional enemies.) The Iroquois tribes originally called their
confederacy Kanonsionni, which means "people of the longhouse."
Motto of the Five Nations: One Heart, One Mind, One law.
Essential Question: How did Geography influence the Native Americans?
The five themes of Geography (location, place, relationships, movement
and regions) had a big influence in the Iroquois League. The Iroquois
were one of the two main groups of woodland tribes. The physical
geography of the Iroquoian territories were very dynamic.
History of the Iroquois In the beginning the Iroquois Indians fought each other
mostly over land and hunting for a long time. One of
their beliefs was if one person was wronged, then the
whole clan was wronged. This caused entire tribes to
fight over a small matter. The fighting finally ended
when the holy man and the Onondaga chief spoke out
against all the fighting and had all the tribes make
peace.
Dekanawida Hiawatha
History
In 1570, the five tribes formed The Iroquois League
located in the Northeastern part of America. Originally
they were formed by five tribes: the Cayuga, Onondaga,
Mohawk, Seneca, and Oneida. In the 1700s, the
Tuscarora tribe joined.
Iroquois Confederacy Diagram.
Their common habitation were in the Northeastern part
of North America in the areas, stretching from New
York, Quebec, Ontario, Oklahoma to North Carolina,
and around the great lakes.
The Iroquois lived in villages of longhouses.
These homes were made of wood and
covered with sheets of bark. Each one
housed an entire clan (up to 60 people).
Habitat
How were the Iroquois governed?
The Iroquois had a type of representative government.
Each tribe in the Iroquois League had its own elected
officials called chiefs. These chiefs would attend the
Iroquois council where major decisions were made
regarding the five nations. The chiefs were chosen by
the clan mothers (matriarchs)of the tribe.
Stop and Ponder
● How many tribes did the Iroquois nation
consist of?
● What type of government did the Iroquois
nation have?
Geography of the Iroquois
As we learned earlier that the Iroquois gathered in the
Northeastern part of the United States, they had access
to rivers and mountainous regions.
Forests with a variety of different trees covered their
land.
The woods were home to deer, bear, turkey, rabbit,
squirrel, beaver and porcupine.
How did geography influence the Iroquois?
The winters were very harsh. Snowstorms made hunting
or food gathering extremely difficult, especially when
harvests in the fall did not do well.
On the other hand, summers were very hot. The heat
would sometimes dry out their crops.
The physical geography of the Iroquoian territories was viewed as an asset
by many other tribes. Most of the land had rich and fertile soil for
growing crops and farming. This gave them a huge advantage when it
came to agriculture. Some of the lands to the Northwest were rocky and
rough. Some of the lands to the East were forest ranges. Also due to the
rocky ranges in the Northwest grounds, the lands to the south were very
dry. Despite having dynamic geographic features, possibly the most
important area for the Iroquois were the forest ranges to the East,
providing them with big and small games for food and hunting, woods and
other critical resources for living, and the grounds to build shelters.
Stop and Ponder
What kind of impact did the winters have on
the lives of the Iroquois?
Why was agriculture a huge advantage for
the Iroquois?
Culture of the Iroquois *Language*
The Wampum Belt Wampum beads played an important role by keeping
record of stories and ideas. Two colors were originally used for the wampum beads, each color has a strong importance. White wampum symbolizes health, peace or purity and prosperity whereas purple wampum meant hostility, disease, death, and sorrow. When these beads are strung they would convey an even stronger message.
*Religion*
The Iroquois made personal choices regarding what
religion or way of life to follow. They believed in one
“Great Spirit”. Many follow the traditional Longhouse
way of life in which they would give thanks for the
environment they lived in.
*Traditions*
The Iroquois have many oral traditions. The
information was passed down through many
generations by word of mouth. These were
stories that were never written down.
*Customs* The Iroquois believed in many spirit forces, such as sky
spirits: wind, sun, moon and stars and earth spirits:
animals and plants.
They also believed that anything they dreamed had to
happen. For example, if they dreamed about being
hurt, they would ask a friend to cut them slightly so
that their dream would come true in a harmless way.
*Songs and Dances* Socials were common among the Iroquois communities.
Everyone who attended enjoyed the singing and
dancing.
Social songs differ in length, verses and tempo
depending on the song selection of the singers.
*Games*
Lacrosse (The Creator’s Game)
Snowsnake
*Clothes*
The Iroquois made clothing from natural materials which
they grew or hunted. They used fur from woodland and
animals in their habitat. The men wore breechcloths
and the women wore skirts. Both wore moccasins to
keep their feet warm.
Stop and Ponder
● What was the main religion of the Iroquois?
● What games did the Iroquois play?
● What type of clothing did the Iroquois wear?
What food did the Iroquois eat? The women did the planting, and the men did the
hunting. They hunted bear, deer and elk.
Famous People
Tachnechdorus: Iroquois Leader
EXIT TICKET
Describe three ways geography influenced
the lives of the Iroquois?
References 1. First Americans/interactive http://www.ic.arizona.edu/ic/kmartin/School/
2. Iroquois Leader http://www.iroquoisdemocracy.pdx.edu/html/iroquoisleader.htm
3. Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Indian Fact Sheet http://www.bigorrin.org/iroquois_kids.htm
4. The Iroquois http://nanunet.lhric.org/HighviewElementary/Grade4/IroquoisWebQeust/Iroquois.htm
5. The Iroquois Befliefs http://www.iroquoismuseum.org/ve9.htm
6. Iroquoian Language http://www.mingolanguage.org/iroquoianlanguages.html
7. Iroquois http://iroquoisgroup24.weebly.com/setting-and-location.html
8. Native American Iroquois Tribe http://www.ducksters.com/history/native_american_iroquois.php
9. Iroquois Confederacy http://hrsbstaff.ednet.ns.ca/ltemplin/canadianhistory11/aboriginal/iroquoisconfed.pdf
10. The Importance of Wampum Belts in the Haudenosaunee Culture http://history4508.wordpress.com/2011/04/11/the-
importance-of-wampum-belts-in-the-haudenosaunee-culture/
