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Iroquois. The Native Americans of the Northeast Woodlands. Introduction. The Iroquois Native Americans lived in the Northeast Woodlands with lakes, but not on the coast. There original territory was what we now call New York state.
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Iroquois The Native Americans of the Northeast Woodlands
Introduction The Iroquois Native Americans lived in the Northeast Woodlands with lakes, but not on the coast. There original territory was what we now call New York state. The word Iroquois is pronounced “ eer-uh-kwoy” in English. The word means “ dead snakes” in Algonquian. Today the Iroquois call themselves the Haudenosaunee or Six Nations.
Stories and LegendsBy Madeline Wessels The Iroquois told many stories and legends to eachother. Storytelling was very important to the Iroquois culture. Here is an example of one that tries to explain how the world was made. Long ago, the world was covered by water. Far above the world lived the Happy Spirits. In the land of Happy Spirits was a huge tree. One day, the Happy Spirits chief pulled up the tree. This left a hole where the tree once stood. He saw the world of water below. The chief sent his daughter in to that world. He carefully dropped her in to the hole. The water animals saw her floating down. They called her Sky Woman. They created the earth on a turtle’s back. Birds helped her land. After a time, Sky Woman gave birth to twins. She died soon after. Good Twin hung his mother’s head in the sky. It became the sun. He also made good things. Evil Twin made bad things. The two fought to control the world.
Iroquois Stories and LegendsBy Madeline Wessels The Iroquois also believed that if they wore corn husk masks or painted their faces they would frighten away the evil spirits. A group of medicine men wore horrifying masks made out of wood. They were thought to possess special powers when they put on their masks. Those are some interesting facts about the Iroquois stories and legends.
Art By Madeline Wessels The Iroquois made lots of different types of art. The Iroquois made pottery like coil pots. They had rounded bottoms and a square rim. They made tobacco pipes out of clay too. They also made jewelry. The Iroquois were known for mask carving. They considered it a very sacred art. Beadwork and porcupine quillwork are more common Iroquois crafts. The Iroquois also made wampum out of white and purple shell beads. Wampum was traded as a kind of money. They were more culturally important as an art material. The wampum belts often told a story or represented a person’s family. Those are some examples of the art the Iroquois made.
MusicBy Madeline Wessels The Iroquois played lots of music. The two most important Iroquois instruments are drums and flutes. Iroquois drums were sometimes filled with water to give them a distinctive sound different than the sound from the other tribe’s drums. Most Iroquois music was rhythmic and is made up of drumming and lively singing. Flutes were used to impress women of the Iroquois tribe. An Iroquois man would play beautiful flute music outside his girlfriend’s longhouse to show he was thinking about her. Those are instruments and music that the Iroquois tribe made.
Families The Iroquois had many different families. Here are some of them. • Huron • Cree • Mohawk • Oneida • Haudenosaunee • Onondaga • Algonquians • Cayuga • Ojibwa • Seneca • Chippewa The woman of the tribe had an important role. They had a lot of power. They could choose the chief of clans and they could remove them. They voted to decide who was in the Great Council. They could not vote for themselves. After that, they could start and stop wars. Then, they planted the crops. In conclusion, the women were very powerful. The men of the tribe did a lot. First, they fought in wars. Second, they hunted for food for the tribe. Last, they protected there families from enemies. The children of the tribe didn’t do much. The children were expected to go to council meetings. They also played with small bows and dolls.
Tools • Hammer The hammer was used to hammer things and nail things down • Fan The fan was used to blow cool air at tribe members so the weren’t hot • Mallet A mallet was used as the same purpose as a hammer except it’s head was a cylinder • Basket A basket was used to collect and store food • Jar A jar was used as a tool to store food • Spearhead A spearhead was something sharp the Iroquois put on their spears • Spears Spears were something the Iroquois used to defend themselves and kill their food • Pot A pot is something the Iroquois cooked in • Hoe A hoe was something to plant crops • Paddles Paddles were used to paddle a boat • ShovelA shovel was used to dig up dirt • Cradelboard A cradelboard was used to carry babies • Powderhorn A powderhorn was used to carry the Iroquois gunpowder • Saddle A saddle was used to ride a horse • Loom A loom was used to weave blankets • Knife A knife was used to cut something
Transportation • The Iroquois transportation is interesting. One of there transportation is a canoe. A canoe is like a boat. They use it to cross lakes. They also used snowshoes. It made it easy to walk in the snow. Last but not least, the Iroquois used moccasins. That is what they used the most. Like when girl goes to gather berries they put on there moccasins. That is the Iroquois transportation.
Communication • The Iroquois communication is interesting. One way they used communication is there language/Algonquian. Another communication that they used is pictures. What kind of pictures? How long did they take? I wonder what kind of pictures they drew. That is Iroquois communication.
Iroquois Food Some of the foods the Iroquois eat are fish, elk, deer, moose, beavers, geese, ducks, pheasants, apples, corn, beans, squash, rabbit , pumpkin, watermelon, bird, and sunflowers.
Iroquois Food The Three Sisters: corn, beans, and squash
Iroquois Special Activities • Festivals • New Year’s • Maple Sap Flows • Planting and Picking Crops • Weddings • Play Lacrosse
Iroquois ClothingBy Emily Warthen The Iroquois Native Americans made a lot of their clothing from deerskin. Iroquois women wore skirts, vests, leggings, and moccasins. Men wore mostly breech clothes and moccasins. The moccasins were made of either leather or corn husks. They also wore snowshoes in the Winter to make hunting easier. The Native Americans decorated their clothing with porcupine quills, shells, and dyed hair. The Iroquois people also liked jewelry, makeup, and tattoos on most of their tribes bodies. The woman of the tribe made necklaces out of shell beads and animal teeth.
Iroquois HousesBy Emily Warthen The Iroquois Native Americans lived in homes called longhouses. They used 4 elm posts that made the corners. Then, they cut down young trees and tied it into place. It formed the side and roof frame. Next, they covered the frame with elm bark and tied it into place with rope. The bark was then flattened with rocks. After the Iroquois built the longhouse, they cut a hole in the roof so smoke from a fire could get out. This formed a longhouse.
