Iroquois Confederacy

Iroquois Confederacy

Multiple Choice

This is the time period before people left written records....

• olden days

• post history

• prehistory

• ancient times

Hunter-Gatherer's

• a member of a nomadic people who live chiefly by hunting and fishing, and harvesting wild food.

• Hunter-gatherer culture is a type of subsistence lifestyle that relies on hunting and fishing animals and foraging for wild vegetation and other nutrients like honey, for food.

Hunter-Gatherer's

• Because hunter-gatherers did not rely on agriculture, they used mobility as a survival strategy. Indeed, the hunter-gatherer lifestyle required access to large areas of land, between seven and 500 square miles, to find the food they needed to survive.

• This made establishing long-term settlements impractical, and most hunter-gatherers were nomadic. Hunter-gatherer groups tended to range in size from an extended family to a larger band of no more than about 100 people.

Multiple Choice

Hunter Gatherers refers to a group of people who...

• hunted animals and gathered the meat

• gathered animals and hunted berries

• gathered together and went hunting

• hunted animals and gathered plants

Iroquois Confederacy

• A confederacy is a form of government where many parts are joined together or unified.

• The Iroquois Tribes consisted of...

• Cayuga

• Onondaga

• Mohawk

• Seneca

• Oneida

Iroquois Confederacy

• Later, in the 1700s, the Tuscarora tribe joined.

Iroquois

• The French named them the Iroquois

• But, they called themselves the Haudenosaunee, which means People of the Longhouse.

• The British called them the 5 nations.

Multiple Select

The 5 Tribes of the Iroquois are...

• Mohawk

• Seneca

• Onondaga

• Cayuga

• Oneida

Multiple Choice

A confederacy means

• a form of government where one person or group has all the power

• a form of government where there is a king or queen

• a form of government that contains city-states

• a form of government where many parts are joined together or unified

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.

• Each tribe also had its own leaders to make local decisions.

The League

The League is governed by a Grand Council, an assembly of fifty sachems, each representing one of the clans of one of the nations.

Sachems= chiefs

How was the Iroquois League and Constitution formed?

According to Native American tradition, the league is founded by Hiawatha, a leader of the Mohawks, on the inspiration of a holy man, Deganawidah.

• The Peacemaker story of Iroquois tradition credits the formation of the confederacy, between 1570 and 1600, to Dekanawidah (the Peacemaker), born a Huron, who is said to have persuaded Hiawatha, an Onondaga living among Mohawks, to advance “peace, civil authority, righteousness, and the great law” as sanctions for confederation. 

• Cemented mainly by their desire to stand together against invasion, the tribes united in a common council composed of clan and village chiefs; each tribe had one vote, and unanimity was required for decisions. 

• The Iroquois used elaborately ritualized systems for choosing leaders and making important decisions.

What did the Iroquois Constitution say....

• a restriction on holding dual offices

• processes to remove leaders within the confederacy

• a bicameral legislature (2 parties) with procedures in place for passing laws

• a clear description of the power to declare war

• a creation of a balance of power

Women's role in Government

• Keepers of the culture

• responsible for defining the political, social, spiritual and economic norms of the tribe.

• Nominated men for leadership positions & made sure they fulfilled their promises

Women's role in Iroquois Day-to-Day Life

• Iroquois society was matrilineal, meaning descent was raced through the mother rather than through the father

• Enjoyed social equality

• Ran the longhouses

• A longhouse was usually occupied by one clan, with the eldest and/or most respected woman of that clan ruling it as Clan Mother.

Women's role in Iroquois Day-to-Day Life

• Owned land and tended to the crops; grew the Three Sisters

• Any children born into the family belonged to the mother’s clan, and they were educated by their mother’s relatives.

Poll

Did Iroquois women have as much power as the men did?

• Yes

• No

• Somewhat