Eastern Woodland: the Iroquois
Background:
Where did the Iroquois live?
NY State, eastern woodlands
Who were the Iroquois?
A nation made up of 6 tribes
What tribes were included in the Iroquois nation?
Mohawk, Seneca, Cayuga, Oneida, Onondaga and Tuscarora
Why did they become a nation?
For protection against attacks of other tribes.
What are the names of their clans?
Wolf, deer, heron, beaver, snipe, turtle, eagle and bear
Most common were wolf, turtle and bear
What was the first rule children learned at a young age?
Not to cry
Homes: the long houses
Where did they build their homes?
Near river and lakes
What were their homes called?
Longhouse
What were they made of?
Trees- elm, cedar, or birch
Long wooden poles and bark
Who built them?
Men
What size were they?
15-20 ft high and about 20ft wide
between 50-150 ft long depending on how many people lived inside
(150ft is half the length of a football field)
What did they look like on the inside and outside?
Door at front and back, fires on the ground in middle isle of house, food hanging from rafters, storage barrels and stacks of firewood, compartments for sleeping and storage, holes in ceiling to allow smoke out.
Who lived in them? How many people lived in them?
Entire family related to the women. Aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, grandparents, siblings.
Who was in charge of the house?
Eldest women called the Clan Mother
How were they protected?
By a stockade- spikes poles made into a large fence around the village
Way of life: Farming and hunting
How did they get food?
They hunted, trapped, fished, and farmed for food.
What tools did they use?
Bones from the animals they killed, bows and arrows, nets, traps, and spears.
Who did most of the farming?
The women did all the farming but the men prepared the field so the seeds could be planted.
What did they grow?
They grew mostly vegetables such as beans, corn and squash.
What are the three sisters?
Bean, Corn and Squash. Corn is the most important of the three.
What was corn used for?
Please use the Food worksheet to answer this question.
Hunting:
How did they hunt?
Using traps, in large groups, with bows and arrows.
Who did most of the hunting?
The men
What did they hunt/trap?
Deer, elk, moose, bear, beaver, geese, ducks, pigeons and fish.
How did they use what they hunted?
They used ever part of the animal they killed. Fur- clothes and bedding, bones- utensils and tools, meat- food.
Who prepared the skins, meat…. for use?
women
Clothing:
What did they use for clothing? 
Animal skin- mostly deer
Who made the clothing?
Women
How did they make it?
A process called tanning. The first step was to scrap off the hair. Then soak the skin in water with the brain cake. Then stretch it and dry it. If the skin was not soft enough they would repeat the process.
What did the men wear?
Breechcloths, moccasins, leggings, vest or blouse and a fur coat in winter.
What did the women wear?
Deer skin vest or blouse, long skirts, leggings, moccasins and fur coat in winter.
What did the children wear?
Same as the adults.
What were their shoes called?
Moccasins
Food:
What did they eat?
Many different kinds of meats in which they hunted, wild berries and plants, vegetables they grew from their garden. Main food was corn.
Where did they get their food?
Hunted, fished and trapped it, gathered it from the wild and grew it.
Who prepared the food?
Women
How did they prepare it?
Cook it, dry it, smoke it
How did they preserve their food?
The women would dry out food and/or smoke it to keep it for a later time.
Where did they store their food?
Clay pots or baskets
Rituals and customs:
What was a false face?
Iroquois healers or doctors
Who was longnose?
IF a child was bad a member of the tribe would put on a mask with a long nose and visit their house. It was said that longnose would take bad children from their home and they would never return. The parents would beg longnose to not take their child if they were good from then on. Children feared longnose.
What were their festivals?
Planting festival-late spring
Strawberry festival- late May early Jue
Green Corn festival- August (celebrates corn, squash and beans being ready)
Midwinter festival or New Yearís festival- February
Harvest Festival- October
What games did they play?
Snowsnake, lacrosse, Bean Game
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