The Iroquois: Haudenosaunee

The Iroquois, now known as the Haudenosaunee, (before, they were known as Kanonsionni, or the people of the longhouse), were an important Native American group that lived in North America long before the Europeans arrived. Composed of five, and later six tribes, (or nations), the Iroquois lived in the eastern woodlands as far back as 1000 A.D. The Iroquois lived in the Eastern Woodlands, in what is now New York. Their land was comprised of large forests located just south of Lake Ontario. The land was east of the Finger-Lakes along the Mohawk River (among other rivers). The Iroquois land was bordered by Algonquin land, resulting in much fighting over hunting lands. The Iroquois lived in Long-Houses and Wigwams, (large circular huts …show more content…
The Europeans brought many diseases and powerful killing weapons to the Iroquois that wiped out many of their numbers. Of course, the weapons did help the Iroquois hunt, and the Europeans brought things like metal pots, (which were more durable than Iroquois pottery), but overall, the Europeans had a negative effect on the Iroquois. Perhaps the most important thing about the Iroquois is their constitution, which greatly affected that of the United States, (specifically the Bill of Rights). The ideas of freedom of speech, religion, land, and membership to the nation can be first attributed to the Iroquois. In fact, the main difference between the constitution of the Iroquois and that of the US is that the Iroquois gave women rights, and allowed members to be of multiple …show more content…
Overall, they were referred to as the Five Nations, (later Six), or the Iroquois Confederation (League). Later, the Tuscarora joined in 1722, making the five tribes six. Each tribe was made of clans, each of which was named after an animal, such as the bear or deer clan. Each clan was led by the oldest woman, or “matron.” She selected the chief, arranged marriages, and controlled all the food. All of the people in the clan could trace their lineage to a common female ancestor, and all members were either born into, or adopted by a clan. Since you were related to everyone in a clan for life, you had to marry someone from a different clan. Despite this, after marriage, a woman would retain her clan ties over her husband. The tribes saw themselves as one large clan, or family, and lived together in peace. The Iroquois League had a constitution, which was used as a model for that of the United States! The constitution said that all members had freedom of speech, religion, and freedom to hunt on the lands of member tribesmen. Also, no Iroquois could harm another. Those who kept breaking laws were exiled from the tribes. The Iroquois League had a council of 50 Sachems, (peace chiefs), who were chosen by the clans. Sachems were Sachems for life, or until the matron of their clan removed them. They met once a year on the lands of the