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North-South-East-West: American Indians and the Natural World
The Women's World 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. Clans The Iroquois people organize themselves according to the model of the animal world, and every clan is named for an animal. The Senecas, for example, have eight clans--Bear, Beaver, Deer, Hawk, Heron, Snipe, Turtle, and Wolf. Children are born into their mother's clan and consider all members of their clan relatives. Image 1: Cornhusk Doll Pounding Corn Image 2: Floor Mat |
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One of the main functions of the clan is to provide kinship with clan members
in other villages. For Iroquois men, who historically traveled away from home,
food and lodging always awaited them in the home of another clan member
regardless of the distance.