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The Women's World Women have always had an honored place in Iroquois society, and they possess great responsibility and power. Clan mothers, the leaders of the clan, select the council members, or chiefs, and have veto power over the men's decisions. Women not only manage the political life of the Iroquois, they are caretakers of the agricultural cycle as well. A woman gave the Three Sisters to the people, and the plants are named for women. Because of this connection with the Earth, planting and gardening were a woman's privilege. They have always planted, cultivated, harvested, and processed the crops. Women also supplemented their families' diets by collecting a wide array of edible wild plants from the forest. Berries, mushrooms, nuts, milkweed greens, wild onions, and asparagus are just a few of the things that Iroquois cooks mixed with wild game and cultivated foods.
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