Iroquois Confederacy

Iroquois Confederacy

1. Roles of Men

   • Served as chiefs
   • Hunted and fished
   • Built longhouses and canoes
   • Organized team sports-Lacrosse
   • Fought in wars
   • Moved into woman's house when married

2. Nations

   • Onondaga
   • Oneida
   • Cayuga
   • Mohawk
   • Seneca
   • Tuscarora was the last nation to join. It is the sixth nation

3. Roles of Women

   • Raised corn, beans and squash-Three Sisters
   • Took care of children
   • Owned property and homes
   • Children belonged to mother's clan

4. The Longhouse

   • Center of Iroquois society
   • People living in same longhouses were part of the same clan
   • Extended by building onto the end
   • Measured by campfires
   • Sometimes called birchbark houses

5. Clan Mothers

   • Leaders of the clan
   • Title passed on to female relatives
   • Had ownership of Chief title
     • Selected chiefs
     • Gave/took away title

6. Role of Chiefs

   • Teach and guide people
   • Took care of Great Law of Peace
   • Cared for welfare and affairs of clan
   • Upheld rule of law

7. Wampums

   • Told stories
     • Made by women
   • Made of purple or white shells
   • Narrated Haudenosaunee history, traditions and laws

8. Vocabulary

   • Confederacy-a league or alliance
     • Haudenosaunee-Iroquois league of nations
       • Clan-close group of people
       • Collective Identity-a group that derives from the people's common interest
       • Consensus-a way of decision making where all have to agree

9. Hiawatha Wampum-forms the basis of the flag of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy.

   • White symbolizes purity and good mind
     • 5 symbols for 5 nations

10. 2 Row Wampum

    • Peace treaty between Europeans and Iroquois
    • Purple rows-Iroquois and Europeans separate paths
    • White Rows-Peace and Friendship

11. Tree of Peace

    • Eagle sits on top of tree to look for danger
      • Roots spread North, East, South, West to invite others to join
        • Weapons buried under to end fighting

12. Peacemaker

    • Wanted to unite tribes
      • Carried message of Peace
        • Helped by Hiawatha

13. Process of Decision Making:

    • Issue arises
      • Mohawk and Seneca discuss and come to consensus
        • Oneida and Cayuga discuss and come to consensus
          • If all come to same decision:
            • Onondaga confirm
              • Mohawk announce
                • Action is taken
          • If all come to different decision:
            • Onondaga refer to Mohawk
              • Process starts again
            • Issue set aside until chiefs get advice from clans
              • Clan meeting was held; men, women, children and elders were given a chance to speak
                • Clan mothers informed their chief what decision was made through consensus
                  • Clan chief carried the decision to the Council of the Chiefs of the nation
                    • The Council of the Chiefs of the nation brought the decision to the Grand Council

14. Consensus

    • Pros
      • Everybody gets what they want
      • Stronger decisions
    • Cons
      • Time consuming
      • Not always easy

15. Seventh Generation

    • The decisions we make today should result in a sustainable world seven generations into the future.