Women stay in the house, tend the fire, wait

1
The Iroquois

• Women stay in the house, tend the fire, wait
• -Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve

By Leonid
2
Where They Lived
The Iroquois house was called a long house, and
was held up by a framework of young elm trees. It
had holes in the roof, from which smoke from the
fires escaped.

These houses were sometimes covered with bark and
were clustered in the villages without any
particular order.
3
Where They Lived
The villages in which the Iroquois lived, existed
for about ten years. When the farmlands around
turned non-fertile, the people of the village
would then go on to a new location.
4
How They Lived

• Running along both walls were the family
  apartments. For sitting and sleeping, foot high
  shelves were used. For storage, the Iroquois had
  another shelf, higher up.

The people of the longhouse covered the end
doorways with bearskins. They placed woven mats
and animal skins on the dirt floor.
5
How Food Was Grown

• A very long time ago, Iroquois didnt grow
  food. All they did was hunt.

The Iroquois used a technique called
slash-and-burn. This technique was used for
creation of land for agricultural use. First, the
land planned for growing on, was burned. Then,
they slashed trees, planting the crops between
the tree stumps.
6
How Food Was Grown

• Plants were soaked in medicine water for a few
  days before being planted. It was said that the
  medicine would keep away the crows. Then the
  seeds were blessed.

Crops such as corn, beans, and squash were often
grown by the Iroquois. Inside the long house,
they were kept in storage pits, covered with
dirt. These crops were also called the Three
Sisters.
7
What They Ate And Drank
The Iroquois brought running water to the village
from a spring. The water made it to the village
in basswood pipes.
The Iroquois typically ate one meal a day.
However, a pot of food was always hanging by the
fires, for particularly hungry people.
8
What They Ate And Drank
The Iroquois often had a surplus of corn. Even
the cornhusks were used. In the summer, corn
husks were made into slippers. Dolls were also
fashioned with corn husks.

The Iroquois gathered the ground nut, which is a
type of wild potato. Other roots were also
gathered.
9
What They Ate And Drank

• Before the Europeans, the Iroquois used
  wooden and clay pottery for cooking. They used
  hot stones to heat food cooked in wooden cook
  wear.

Squash, beans, and corn were the Iroquois
mainstay. They grew 15 different types of corn,
60 types of beans, and about 8 different types of
squashes.
10
What They Ate And Drank

• Iroquois often included corn in their meals.
  The most common dish with corn was corn soup. It
  also often included meat.

The Iroquois also used corn in other meals. They
made cornbread. Corn was also dried and parched,
so it could be preserved for hunting trips.
11
What They Ate And Drank

• The Iroquois collected a lot of nuts. Some of
  them are acorns, beechnuts, walnuts, hickory
  nuts, and chestnuts. These nuts were used for
  food and oil.

The Iroquois cooked the first greens to come up
in the forests. Some of the greens were wild
onions, milkweed, and skunk cabbage.
12
What They Ate And Drank

• The Iroquois were a very successful tribe in
  terms of food. They almost never ran out of food.
  As I said, they grew food and hunted for it. A
  later chapter will give you more information on
  hunting.

13
How They Dressed
Men
Men wore a breech cap, similar to a woolen hat.
It fit right on their head. One or two feathers
stuck out for decoration. Eagle feathers were
preferred.
For their feet, men had corn husk slippers.
However they were cool, and were used during the
summer. During winter they wore moccasins.
14
How They Dressed

• During the warm summer days, Iroquois men had
  leggings made of deer skin. They were held up by
  a special belt made of deerskin, as well. During
  the winter, they used bear skins. They didnt
  have a shirt in the summer, but in the winter
  they had a warm bear skin coat.

Geometric designs were often used for tattoos,
common among the Iroquois men at a time.
15
How They Dressed

• Men Shaved off most of their hair, leaving
  only a small clock that stood up. It was also
  decorated with eagle feathers.

Women
Women wore the same footwear as the men. Their
hair was always long and braided.
16
How They Dressed

• Women dressed simply They had a deerskin
  skirt which fell below the knees, and leggings.
  During winter, they wore a loose blouse, fringed
  along the edges.

Iroquois women liked jewelry. Before the
Europeans, they used the teeth and shells of
animals, out of which they made jewelry. They
also made necklaces out of grasses.
17
How They Dressed

• Mothers tanned hide, and then made them into
  leggings and moccasins, which the whole family
  would use. Leather was sewn by punching holes
  with a bown awl, a pointed tool. It was laced
  together with thread, which they made from plant
  fibers.

18
How They Dressed

• Despite some difficulties in making clothing,
  the Iroquois made clothes, which if werent
  gorgeous, kept them warm during the cold days.

19
Their Location
The Iroquois Area
20
Their Location
Every one of the 6 Iroquois tribes had an amount
of villages. They were usually built on a high
terrain, near some source of drinking water. They
were also often near streams, rivers, or lakes
for canoe travel.
21
Their Location

• Now, there are about 15,000 Iroquois Indians,
  with 87,000 panes of reservation in New York
  State. This state is also responsible for their
  welfare.

22
Their Tools And Weapons
The bow and arrow was the most important hunting
tool among the Iroquois. They were made with much
care. Different arrow heads were used for
different animals.

Trained for fighting since boyhood, the young
Iroquois male, was sent to live alone in the
woods during winter. He only had bow and arrows,
a hatchet, and a knife for protection from wild
animals.
23
Their Tools And Weapons

• Before the introduction of the gun, the
  Iroquois fought with their bows and spears.

24
The War Clubs

• The Iroquois often used a weapon called the
  war club. There were 2 of them
• One was made of iron wood, which is dense and
  heavy wood. It was 2 ft. long and had a knot,
  carved into a 5-6 inch diameter ball.

25
The War Clubs

• The other one was called the deer horn club. It
  was also 2 ft. long. Made of hard wood, it had a
  4 in. prong of deer horn at the end. This prong
  was pointing downward.

26
Their Religion

• Believing in a creator of all things, the
  Iroquois thank her for all things in nature. This
  religion is called the Longhouse Religion.

They also believe in spirits, which are present
in all living things. If a spirit is evil, it
brings sickness and bad luck.
27
Their Religion

• Masks were used to scare away these evil spirits.
  They were carved from living basswood trees, and
  were used by members of the Medicine Mask
  Society, which is a group that performs healing
  ceremonies.

28
Their Roles
The women did anything that had to do with
creation or the house. The men did harder and
more dangerous things such as hunting and
providing.
The women were in charge of the work of the
fields. The ground was hoed with spades of hard
wood, and had seeds planted in it. The women
cared for, and harvested the crops. However, they
did not grow or harvest tobacco. Women never
smoked it either.
29
What Children Did

• When a girl turned ten she could help her
  mother around the house. Younger boys could help
  scare the cows from the fields, but as they got
  older, they would use this ability, as a warrior.
  

30
Their Government

• The Iroquois league is called an oligarchy. An
  oligarchy is a government that is ruled by a
  small amount of people. The Iroquois have 50
  people.

The top of the Iroquois social organization are
the Sachems. There were 50 Sachems.
31
Their Government

• Besides Sachems there were council members
  called Pine Trees. These were men and women who
  did something to dignify them (like being a good
  hunter.) They could attend meetings but couldnt
  vote.

32
Their Government
Using two colors (white and purple), Iroquois
wove belts or strips of wampum. They could
symbolize important events, and would be
presented as gifts at meetings. Strips of wampum
could identify messengers.
33
Arts And Crafts
Baskets were woven out of corn husks. Pottery was
also made. They made pottery by wrapping clay on
a gourd, which gave a pot its shape. When the pot
was fired in hot coals the gourd burned away.
Masks were made for healing purposes. A mask was
decorated so well that it was treasured as a
living creature.
34
Trade Europeans - Iroquois
A supply of beaver skins was as important to the
Europeans as European traded goods, to the
Iroquois. The most favored items were metal items
such as knives, hoes, kettles, axes and fire-arms
and the firearm ammunition.
35
Trade Europeans - Iroquois

• The Dutch Iroquois Fur Trade was Centered on
  Fort Orange and the upper Hudson river of present
  day Albany. However, unfortunately for the
  Mohawks, the first to benefit from the Dutch were
  the Mochicans as they were between the Mohawks
  and the Hudson River.

36
The Europeans
Quick to learn the lesson, the Europeans were
quick to take an interest in ministering the
Iroquois. However, the earliest attempts failed
among the Mohawks.
37
A Legend
This is a common Iroquois belief about how the
earth was created
There was a creature called Sky Woman. She was
the wife of the Chief of The Sky World. In the
middle of this Sky World stood a beautiful tree.
This tree got uprooted and Sky Woman fell through
the hole. Below was an ocean. When Sky Woman fell
through, a flock of doves picked her up and put
her on the back of a huge sea turtle, waiting in
the water. Other animals brought mud,
38
A Legend (Cont.)
which they put on the turtles back. This mud
became land. Sky Woman brought seeds which she
planted. The seeds became plants. Later she had a
child, which had 2 boys. They were known as the
Two Brothers. The Two Brothers created the rest
of the world. One brother was evil, and one was
good. It was said that if the Iroquois dont
behave well, then the Evil brother will get
stronger.
39
Credits
Gridley, Marion. The Story Of The Iroquois.
Waukesha, Wisconsin Country Beautiful
Foundations. 1969
McCall, Barbara.. The Iroquois. Vero Beach
Florida Rouke Publications Inc. 1989
Lund, Bill. The Iroquois Indians. Mankato,
Minnesota Capstone Press. 1997
40
Sherrow, Victoria.. The Iroquois Indians. New
York, New York Chelsea House Publishers. 1992
Driving, Hawk, Sneve. The Iroquois. New York, New
York Holiday House. 1995
Graymont, Barbara.. The Iroquois. New York, New
York Chelsea House Publishers. 1998.
41
Doherty, Craig Catherine. The Iroquois. New
York, New York USA. 1989