|
|
|
|
Ancestry in the Land From the sixteenth century on, six nations have allied themselves to form the Iroquois Confederacy. Originally, they lived in the Eastern Woodlands, in an area that extended from the land south of Lake Ontario, along the Mohawk River, and westward to the Finger Lakes and Genessee River, in what is now New York State.
| |
 |  |
Though known as the Iroquois, they call themselves Haudenosaunee,
the People of the Longhouse. The Mohawk nation has historically stood guard at
the easternmost door of a symbolic loghouse. The Seneca watch over
the western door, while the other nations, the Oneida, Onondaga,
Cayuga, and the Tuscarora, are spread in between.
|
|
Skilled in warfare and gifted in peace, the six nations established a
peace treaty which led to the formation
of one of the world's earliest
democracies. This society gave rise to great orators, like the
Onondaga, Hiawatha, and noble leaders, such as the Seneca,
Cornplanter, who was rewarded with a tract of land along
Pennsylvania's Allegheny River for his diplomatic efforts with the
fledgling government of the American Colonies.
The Iroquois people were rooted in the land, which designated each person an important function as the seasons changed. Men were hunters and warriors, providers and protectors of the community. Women owned the houses, gathered wild foods, cooked, made baskets and clothing, and cared for the children.
| ||
|