# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Among the Haudenosaunee are groups of people who come together as families called clan. As a matrilineal society, each clan is linked by a common female ancestor with women possessing a leadership role within the clan. The number of clans varies among the nations with the Mohawk only having three to the Oneida having nine. The clans are represented by birds and animals and are divided into the three elements: water, land and air. The bear, wolf and deer represent the land element, the turtle, eel and beaver represent the water element and the snipe, hawk and heron represent the air element.

Each member of a clan is considered a relative regardless of which nation they belong to. A wolf clan member of the Mohawk and a wolf clan member of the Seneca nation are still considered relatives. Family names and clans are passed down from mother to child. For example if a man belonging to the turtle clan were to marry a woman of the wolf clan the children would be of the wolf clan. Within certain clans there may also be different types of one animal or bird. For example, the turtle clan has three different types of turtles, the wolf clan has three different types of wolves and the bear clan includes three different types of bears allowing for marriage within the clan as long as each belongs to a different species of the clan.

In Haudenosaunee society each person has their own family, which includes their mother, father and brothers and sisters. But with this comes their extended family including everyone else belonging to the same clan. This system was especially helpful when traveling from nation to nation as people would search out members of their same clan who would then would provide food and shelter and care for them as part of their family. Because people of the same clan are considered family, marriages within the same clan are forbidden. The clan system still survives among those who follow the traditions.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Among the Haudenosaunee are groups of people who come together as families called clan. As a matrilineal society, each clan is linked by a common female ancestor with women possessing a leadership role within the clan.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Clans and Roles of the Iroquois Confederacy

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Food And Hunting - Haudenosaunee Confederacy

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Haudenosaunee were well known for agricultural skill. Partly due to the practice of planting crops like corn, beans and squash, sometimes known as the three sisters, together to encourage growth. These three foods, grown together, made up a large portion of the Haudenosaunee diet. The versatilit…

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Farming and agriculture provided most of the Iroquois diet. The Iroquois men were responsible for clearing the fields while the women did the actual planting. They used small wooden spades to...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Ganondagan’s 3 Sisters Garden Preparation and Planting

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.provider_name
The Classroom | Empowering Students in Their College Journey

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The Iroquois are an American Indian collective confederacy or tribe (made up of five different tribes) that are indigenous to North America, particularly America's northeastern region. Traditionally farmers, they participated in several early wars in America, including the French and Indian War, in which they fought with the British. While many of their traditional weapons had utilitarian uses, some, such as the tomahawk, are now ingrained firmly as a traditional weapon of war in popular culture.

Tomahawk

The tomahawk is, basically, the Native American version of an axe. Hatchet-like, it served a range of purposes, including as a hand weapon. Sometimes, it was tossed at an opponent, a fighting technique still popular in reenactments because of the weapon's enduring popularity (though not all American Indian tribes and people prominently used the tool or weapon). For the Iroquois, the tomahawk was used in hand-to-hand combat, or as a thrown weapon from horseback or long distance. Traditionally, the Iroquois made their tomahawks out of stone (head) and wood (handle).

Lance

For Iroquois hunters, who made hunting a daily practice, the lance was a useful tool that also doubled as a weapon of war. The Iroquois employed lances that were quite long, which they could wield from atop a horse to strike or knock down an opponent (or animal, if hunting). The lance also served a protective purpose, as it kept opponents at a distance. To enhance the lance, the Iroquois might dress it up with feathers or even scalps, taken from fallen enemies. The imposing sight served as an intimidation method as well as decoration.

Bow & Arrow

Another traditional weapon of Native American culture is the bow and arrow, also used for both hunting and fighting. The Iroquois made their arrowheads out of stone, such as flint, and metal or animal bone, and meticulously crafted their bows from wood. A skilled fighter or hunter could wield the bow on horseback. These had to be shorter than the bows used on foot, which were generally called longbows. It is said that the most skilled of Iroquois fighters could launch possibly 20 arrows during the time it took for a musket to be reloaded and then aimed and fired, giving the Native American fighters an early advantage.

Club

The club, or war club, carved of wood or stone, has its origins as a tool designed for utilitarian purposes, such as hunting. Clubs used distinctly for war were called war clubs among the Iroquois. Traditionally, a war club had a very wide handle with a large ball atop the club, which was the main striking point when the club was wielded. When fighting with a club, the Iroquois also made use of a shield to protect them from opponents' blows.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Iroquois are an American Indian collective confederacy or tribe (made up of five different tribes) that are indigenous to North America, particularly America's northeastern region. Traditionally farmers, they participated in several early wars in America, including the French and Indian War, in which they fought with the British.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Iroquois w ere resourceful people who made many tools to help them perform their da y to day activities. Paraphernalia such as woven baskets were used as storage containers or a carrying...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Ancient Native American Technology Used For Hunting

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The artwork of the Iroquois is a huge part of the culture. I roquois art like many forms of art tends to represent the beliefs of its creators and the heritage of the creators people. Each...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Native American Tools & Weapons | Synonym

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Native American tribes used tools and weapons they fashioned out of materials from the environment, including wood, stone, and animal bone or sinew. Tribes from different regions had varied surroundings and natural resources to work with, necessitating different types of tools and weapons.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Art & Culture: Nature's Bounty

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Master Basket Maker Introduces Basketry to Onondaga Youth

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Virtual Crafts for Kids - Native American Basket Weaving

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Akwesasne History Project: Cycle of Ceremonies

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Iroquois are a confederacy of six Native American nations.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
MUSIC AND DANCE Music and dance help the people celebrate the gift of life, health, friendship, and good times. The water drum and cowhorn rattle are the principle traditional musical instruments for the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois). Music and dance bring the Haudenosaunee community together. In the Longhouse Religion, the people dance to give thanks to the Creator.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The Onondaga ceremonies give thanks and reflect the surrounding living world. At Onondaga we have ceremonial songs and social songs. Ceremonial songs are only performed in the longhouse and are not for public viewing. While social songs can be performed anywhere we want to be social and have lots of fun.

Dances and songs are performed in a counter-clockwise direction. The bean plant, the mother earth, the moon, and the stars; all move in this life providing direction and so do we when we dance. We consider singing and dancing as another way to give thanks. The more spirited you sing and dance, the more you show the Creator how thankful you are. In this fashion, the songs that were given to us so long ago are still being carried on today.

Gana'jyó*wih - Drum

Our songs are sung using drums and rattles. Drums are usually made of cedar trees with deer hide stretched over the top. A small portion of a cedar log is hollowed out and waterproofed. Water is then poured into the bottom of the drum and the deer hide is stretched over the top of the cedar. The wet leather is then stretched and tightened before a rim is added to hold the stretched leather into place. The singer tests the drum and listens for a nice high tone. Adjustments are made until the drum is ready. Songs are usually sung with one drum.

Gasdawéñ'shä*' - Rattle

The Onondaga and Haudenosaunee generally use two types of rattles. The horn rattle usually accompanies the water drum.

Horn Rattle
The horn rattle is an animal horn, usually a cow, which also has been dried and hollowed out. A circular wooden top and bottom is carved to fit the horn. Then a wooden handle is carved and fitted to go through the top and bottom of the rattles. In the final step, seeds are placed inside to make a rattle sound. These rattles are used by the singers who accompany the lead singer who plays the water drum.

Turtle Rattle
The second type of rattle is the turtle rattle. This rattle is very sacred to the Haudenosaunee and is only used in a few select ceremonies. The snapping turtle are caught for the sole purpose for making this special rattle. Once the turtle has been sacrificed and hung to dry, skilled craftsmen carve wooden braces that are braced inside the shell along with seeds before the rattle is sewn back together. Individuals who own such rattles take great care in preserving their rattles as a turtle's life was sacrificed for the ceremonies it now participates in.

Below is a sample of some Haudenosaunee social dances:

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Onondaga ceremonies give thanks and reflect the surrounding living world. At Onondaga we have ceremonial songs and social songs. Ceremonial songs are only performed in the longhouse and are not for public viewing. While social songs can be performed anywhere we want to be social and have lots of fun.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.authors[].name
Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Haudenosaunee Traditional Dances | Native American Heritage Month

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The Iroquois clothing, like the Iroquois themselves are very unique and distinguished even among other native tribes. Traditionally the Iroquois used furs obtained from the woodland animals, hides of elk and deer, corn husks, and they also wove plant and tree fibers to produce various articles of clothing. The clothing of the Iroquois served both as protection and as well as decoration. "What I find very interesting about Iroquois clothing, is that even though in modern day we have incorporated calico and other fabrics into our clothing, the style and the symbolic decorations of our regalia remains the same as it did."

The Kastoweh has a frame that is made from 3 black ash splints. One splint wraps around the head. The second splint runs from north to south and it is bowed to fit over and around the top of the head, and the third splint runs from east to west and is also bowed, then both strips are secured to the splint that runs around the head by sinew. This makes a wonderful frame. Sometimes the top of the splint frame is covered with deer skin or today by cloth. On the outside of the headband, it was traditionally decorated with symbols, Iroquois usually made with porcupine quills, or wampum beads. In later years a band of silver was designed and attached. When glass beads were introduced some kastoweh bands were beaded. Today one might see any of the aforementioned bands attached to the Iroquois feathered hat. The Iroquois also wore fur headdresses, as well as deer hair roaches.

"Kilts were traditionally made from leather and the edges fringed and decorated with porcupine quill-work. Kilts are secured around the waist by a sash. Today kilts can be made from cloth, usually wool in red or black is preferred. Also worn with a kilt, or breech cloth are leather, wool, or broadcloth leggings that are either attached by separate ties to a sash--or threaded through a sash or leather belt.""Leggings are often worn so that the seam faces the outside of the leg. This allows the fringes, if made from leather to face outward from the body. Sometimes the seam is left so that it faces towards the front, if made from cloth, and is left open a few inches at the bottom of the legging. Either way, the bottom of the legging and along the seam is decorated with very fine work. Traditionally porcupine quills were used, but working with quills is becoming a dying art, today small white glass beads are used that creates such fine work that it looks like lace work. A breech cloth can be made from leather or cloth."

"Breech cloths can be made in two different styles. In one style, the breech-cloth is made from a single long piece of deerskin or cloth that is 2 yards long and 10 o 12 inches wide, which is long enough to hang in the back and front and pass between the legs. The breech- cloth is secured to the waist by a sash, or leather belt. Today some people make breech cloths by taking two panels of cloth or leather and attaching them to a sash or belt, which is then secured around the waist. With this method, the cloth does not pass between the legs, so shorts must be worn because there is no covering of one's private areas. Both types of cloths are decorated. If the leather fringe would hang down in front and back and the front and back panels would be decorated with quill or bead work. If made from cloth, wool, or broadcloth, the front and back edges are beaded. The front and back of the breech cloth is also beaded with Iroquois symbols or clan animal."

"With the overdress a skirt and leggings are always worn. The skirt can be made of deerskin, or cloth. Today many women's skirts are made from broadcloth or wool, and are elegantly beaded along the bottom border and edge. The skirt fits around the waist and is long enough to come mid way between the knee and ankle. Legging can be made from leather, or cloth. Most leggings today are made from cloth, broadcloth, or wool. Leggings are tied just above the knee and must be long enough to just touch the top of the moccasin. The legging is made so that at the bottom edge is an inverted V shape that is worn facing the center of the ankle. The bottom boarder and edge of the legging is decorated with beading and sometimes ribbons."

Clothing: http://tuscaroras.com/graydeer/pages/childrenspage.htmThis page on clothing was described by an Iroquois

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Iroquois clothing, like the Iroquois themselves are very unique and distinguished even among other native tribes. Traditionally the Iroquois used furs obtained from the woodland animals,...

# data[].attributes.headline
This video is about ALL Native Americans. Make sure to focus on the parts about the Haudenosaunee.

# data[].attributes.subject
This video is about ALL Native Americans. Make sure to focus on the parts about the Haudenosaunee.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Iroquois w ere resourceful people who made many tools to help them perform their da y to day activities. Paraphernalia such as woven baskets were used as storage containers or a carrying...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Building of the Iroquois Long House 2005

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Iroquois Haudenosaunee Long House Crafts for Kids

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Your little artist will have fun making this craft. For more, FREE craft projects please visit www.youresocreative.com #FreekidscraftFor more visit https://w...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Farming and agriculture provided most of the Iroquois diet. The Iroquois men were responsible for clearing the fields while the women did the actual planting. They used small wooden spades to...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Haudenosaunee Hunting and Fishing Techniques

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Haudenosaunee developed a cooperative culture, with each member of a village or clan responsible for helping others in the group. Women tended the crops together; men organized hunting and fishing parties together, capturing enough to provide food, clothing and tools for the entire village.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Food And Hunting - Haudenosaunee Confederacy

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Haudenosaunee were well known for agricultural skill. Partly due to the practice of planting crops like corn, beans and squash, sometimes known as the three sisters, together to encourage growth. These three foods, grown together, made up a large portion of the Haudenosaunee diet. The versatilit…

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Ancient Native American Technology Used For Hunting

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Hunting and Fishing Traditional Food Knowledge -  Initiative for Aboriginal Seniors  2020-2022

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Early explorers to the New World learned a lot about the Native American Indian way of life. One thing they were introduced to was wampum belts. As part of our study of the New World and Colonial Times, Nicholas and Rachel each made their own wampum belts.

Wampum was made up of valuable purple quahog shells and white whelk shells. The Indians would put holes in the shells and string them to make jewelry or belts. These wampum belts would be used for trading, as a sign of status, to communicate a threat of war or marriage proposal, and also to record history.

Here is a great video about the history of wampum.

The kids began their project by making their own loom out of a piece of scrap cardboard measuring 13 inches long and about 3 1/2 inches wide. They cut six slits on each side of short sides of the cardboard. Then they taped a piece of thread at the bottom and wrapped it around the card, tucking it in each slit as it wrapped around. These are called the warp threads. Once they were finished wrapping the loom with warp thread, they cut it and taped the end down.

I found some worksheets online at There's a Dragon in My Art Room that worked perfectly for designing wampum belts for the size of our looms. The kids colored in the squares to represent where each bead color would go.

We used inexpensive plastic pony beads from the craft store. The kids threaded their needle and tied the end of the thread to the loom thread. To use this loom, they loaded the beads on the needle for one column then slid the needle and beads under the warp threads, allowing each bead to settle in between two warp threads. Then they went to the next column on the pattern and repeated.

It was a little time consuming but it seemed to be a relaxing activity for the kids. As you have seen, Rachel made a purple and gold LSU wampum belt.

Nicholas wanted to stick with a more authentic look to his wampum belt. Here he is loading his thread up with beads for a column on his pattern.

And weaving on his loom.

Here are their completed Wampum Belts. Unfortunately, as Nicholas was taking his Wampum off of the loom the thread snagged and broke and lots of beads went flying. He taped up the end so its fine, just a little shorter than originally made.

I found several online resources to help us make these wampum belts but the most helpful resource were some YouTube videos called Art with Mrs. Prestigiacomo.

For younger kids,
All Things Beautiful demonstrates a way to make a wampum belt without a loom and using macaroni.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
American Indian Craft: Make a Wampum Belt

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Early explorers to the New World learned a lot about the Native American Indian way of life. One thing they were introduced to was wampum belts. As part of our study of the New World and Colonial Times, Nicholas and Rachel each made their own wampum belts.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The History of Wampum - Real Story from Local Massachusetts Native American

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In 1613, the Mohawks noticed people coming into their territory unannounced. The visitors had begun to cut trees and clear land for their homes and farms. They had entered the lands of the Haudenos…

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
What follows are some of the latest designs I've been working on; something to occupy my time during the covid epidemic. For Native peoples around the world, shields served as a form of protection from both physical and spiritual harm. They are also strong symbols of good medicine. My intention is to create a series of shields, some inspired by designs on old Northeast Woodland beaded bags and others by animals or some other aspect of nature. Many of the old beadwork designs had hidden meanings woven into them, cultural motifs to be preserved for future generations.

The earliest beadworkl has a spiritual quality about it that is akin to fine art.Inaugurated at a time when the Northeast Woodland nations were impoverished and struggling to continue under conditions of devastating cultural loss, not only was each piece the product of hard work, but it was also a stratagem of cultural resistance and continuance. It was an art of survival.

Historically, this work has been described as a family undertaking that was performed when beadworkers gathered. As they worked in a communal setting, they thoughtfully wove stories into their designs, which told of what it meant to be Haudenosaunee or Wabanaki.

Beadwork was a bridge that united the generations. As the younger beaders were learning their craft, their elders would relate the oral histories of their families. The process of making beadwork evokes memories and connects the Iroquois to their ancestors (From a text panel in the "Across Borders" travelling exhibit).

On the surface, the bags were the canvas upon which an artist displayed their technical skills and artistic vision.But below the surface, the power inherent in a beautiful object was a central feature of life.Beadwork was a language through which artists expressed their deepest beliefs about the universe.We may never know the full extent of their meanings, but embedded within the designs are stories of a people told in symbols and motifs that spoke of a sacred relationship with the natural world.The shields are my humble attempt to honor the creators of this original and unique form of art with my own work.
References
1850 "Report to the Regents of the University, upon the Articles Furnished to the Indian Collection." In The Third Annual Report of the Regents of the University on the Condition of the State Cabinet of Natural History and Antiquarian Collection, Annexed Thereto pp. 63 - 93. Revised Edition: Printed by Weed, Parsons and Company, Albany.

1852 "Report on the Fabrics, Inventions, Implements and Utensils of the Iroquois, Made to the Regents of the University, Jan. 22, 1851; Illustrative of the Collection Annexed to the State Cabinet of Natural History, with Illustrations." In The Fifth Annual Report of the Regents of the University on the Condition of the State Cabinet of Natural History and the Historical and Antiquarian Collection, Annexed Thereto, pp 68 - 117. Printed by Richard H. Pease, Albany.
Phillips, Ruth
1998 Trading Identities: The Souvenir in Native North American Art from the Northeast, 1700 - 1900. University of Washington Press, Seattle and London: McGill-Queen's University Press, Montreal and Kingston.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
What follows are some of the latest designs I've been working on; something to occupy my time during the covid epidemic. For Native peoples around the world, shields served as a form of protection from both physical and spiritual harm. They are also strong symbols of good medicine.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Iroquois canoes were water vessels made out of elm bark or a hollowed-out log. Though most styles of Native-American canoes were built to be light and swift, Iroquois canoes could be very long, as much as 30 feet in length. They could carry a passenger load of 18 people.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Making a Birch Bark Canoe with Tom Byers

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Iroquois canoes were water vessels made out of elm bark or a hollowed-out log. Though most styles of Native-American canoes were built to be light and swift, Iroquois canoes could be very long, as much as 30 feet in length. They could carry a passenger load of 18 people.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Iroquois Confederacy, self-name Haudenosaunee ("People of the Longhouse"), also called Iroquois League, Five Nations, or (from 1722) Six Nations, confederation of five (later six) Indian tribes across upper New York state that during the 17th and 18th centuries played a strategic role in the struggle between the French and British for mastery of North America. The five original Iroquois nations were the Mohawk (self-name: Kanien'kehá:ka ["People of the Flint"]), Oneida (self-name: Onᐱyoteʔa∙ká ["People of the Standing Stone"]), Onondaga (self-name: Onoñda'gega' ["People of the Hills"]), Cayuga (self-name: Gayogo̱hó:nǫ' ["People of the Great Swamp"]), and Seneca (self-name: Onödowa'ga:' ["People of the Great Hill"]). After the Tuscarora (self-name: Skarù∙ręʔ ["People of the Shirt"]) joined in 1722, the confederacy became known to the English as the Six Nations and was recognized as such at Albany, New York (1722). Often characterized as one of the world's oldest participatory democracies, the confederacy has persisted into the 21st century.

The origins and growth of the Iroquois Confederacy

The Peacemaker story of Iroquois tradition credits the formation of the confederacy, between 1570 and 1600, to Dekanawidah (the Peacemaker), born a Huron, who is said to have persuaded Hiawatha, an Onondaga living among Mohawks, to advance "peace, civil authority, righteousness, and the great law" as sanctions for confederation. Cemented mainly by their desire to stand together against invasion, the tribes united in a common council composed of clan and village chiefs; each tribe had one vote, and unanimity was required for decisions. Under the Great Law of Peace (Gayanesshagowa), the joint jurisdiction of 50 peace chiefs, known as sachems, or hodiyahnehsonh, embraced all civil affairs at the intertribal level.

The Iroquois (Haudenosaunee) Confederacy differed from other American Indian confederacies in the northeastern woodlands primarily in being better organized, more consciously defined, and more effective. The Iroquois used elaborately ritualized systems for choosing leaders and making important decisions. They persuaded colonial governments to use these rituals in their joint negotiations, and they fostered a tradition of political sagacity based on ceremonial sanction rather than on the occasional outstanding individual leader. Because the league lacked administrative control, the nations did not always act in unison, but spectacular successes in warfare compensated for this and were possible because of security at home.

During the formative period of the confederacy about 1600, the Five Nations remained concentrated in what is now central and upper New York state, barely holding their own with the neighbouring Huron and Mohican (Mahican), who were supplied with guns through their trade with the Dutch. By 1628, however, the Mohawk had emerged from their secluded woodlands to defeat the Mohican and lay the Hudson River valley tribes and New England tribes under tribute for goods and wampum. The Mohawk traded beaver pelts to the English and Dutch in exchange for firearms, and the resulting depletion of local beaver populations drove the confederacy members to wage war against far-flung tribal enemies in order to procure more supplies of beaver. In the years from 1648 to 1656, the confederacy turned west and dispersed the Huron, Tionontati, Neutral, and Erie tribes. The Andaste succumbed to the confederacy in 1675, and then various eastern Siouan allies of the Andaste were attacked. By the 1750s most of the tribes of the Piedmont had been subdued, incorporated, or destroyed by the league.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Iroquois Confederacy | Definition, Significance, History, & Facts

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Iroquois Confederacy (or Haudenosaunee Confederacy), confederation of five (later six) Indian tribes across upper New York state that participated in the struggle between the French and British in North America. The Iroquois nations are the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and Tuscarora.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Called the Iroquois Confederacy by the French, and the League of Five Nations by the English, the confederacy is properly called the Haudenosaunee Confederacy meaning People of the long house. The confederacy was founded by the prophet known as the Peacemaker with the help of Aionwatha, more commonly known as Hiawatha. The exact date of the joining of the nations is unknown and said to be time immemorial making it one of the first and longest lasting participatory democracies in the world.

The confederacy, made up of the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, and Senecas was intended as a way to unite the nations and create a peaceful means of decision making. Through the confederacy, each of the nations of the Haudenosaunee are united by a common goal to live in harmony. Each nation maintains it own council with Chiefs chosen by the Clan Mother and deals with its own internal affairs but allows the Grand Council to deal with issues affecting the nations within the confederacy.

The Haudenosaunee symbol of the long house, provided by the Peacemaker, is recognized in traditional geographic locations. Upon confederation each nation took on a role within the metaphorical longhouse with the Onondaga being the Keepers of the Fire. The Mohawk, Seneca and Onondaga acted as the Elder Brothers of the confederacy while the Cayuga and Oneida were the Younger Brothers within Grand Council. The main meeting place was and still exists today on Onondaga territory.

Often described as the oldest, participatory democracy on Earth, the Haudenosaunee Confederacy's constitution is believed to be a model for the American Constitution. What makes it stand out as unique to other systems around the world is its blending of law and values. For the Haudenosaunee, law, society and nature are equal partners and each plays an important role.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
ABOUT THE HAUDENOSAUNEE CONFEDERACY Called the Iroquois Confederacy by the French, and the League of Five Nations by the English, the confederacy is properly called the Haudenosaunee Confederacy meaning People of the long house. The confederacy was founded by the prophet known as the Peacemaker with the

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Centuries before the creation of the United States and its Constitution, democracy had already taken root in North America-among a handful of Indigenous nations. Known as the Iroquois Confederacy, or Haudenosaunee, this league of nations emerged among five northeast woodlands tribes that had been plagued by wars of retribution and violence for many generations.

The Haudenosaunee ("people of the longhouse") originally included the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga and Seneca nations. In the 1700s, the Tuscarora became the sixth. Guided by the Great Law of Peace-their own constitution-this league came to jointly govern, while recognizing the sovereignty of each nation.

The Great Law of Peace, credited largely to two visionary culture heroes, Hiawatha and Deganawida (a.k.a. "The Peacemaker"), established a model for federalism, separation of powers and participatory democracy that would inspire leaders like Benjamin Franklin and James Madison during the formation of the United States. It also conferred significant power and status to women in Iroquois culture.

A Story of Symbols

The origin story of the Great Law of Peace, passed down through centuries of Iroquois oral tradition, is a powerful epic loaded with symbolism, one that links peace and justice to physical health and human emotions like grief and empathy. Many of the names in the story have been passed down through generations and are considered metaphorical for citizens of the Haudenosaunee Six Nations today.

"These names are there to remind us through symbolism that we should never go back to that time again," said Jamie Jacobs, a Seneca of the Turtle Clan from Tonawanda and a member of a committee that oversees the reading of the Great Law of Peace throughout the Iroquois Confederacy.

According to oral tradition, these events happened long ago at a place known as Kanienkeh, where Hiawatha, Deganawida and others worked to establish a lasting peace that continues to serve as a living tradition today. While some Western scholars date the formation of the Iroquois Confederacy to about 500 years ago, the Iroquois and many non-Native scholars date its creation to 1142, when a total solar eclipse occurred in the region.

Here's a distilled version of the Iroquois story of how the Great Law of Peace came into being:

Hiawatha's Great Loss-and Transformation

Hiawatha lived among the Onondaga people during a time of great discord. The people were afraid to leave their homes at night for fear of violence, treachery and sorcery. The worst among these evil sorcerers was the fearsome Atotarhoh, a bent and misshapen man with snakes in his hair who ate human flesh and could kill his enemies with evil medicine, from which he drew great powers.

Hiawatha and others had tried many times to thwart Atotarhoh's wicked ways but he always tricked them into defeat. A dreamer in the community had a vision that a man from the north would soon pass by who could change everything, but Hiawatha would first have to travel with him to help.

Hiawatha had seven daughters who he would not depart from, but they were all killed over time, leaving him grief-stricken and struggling for answers. He left the Onondagas to wander the woods, his mind in a cloud, until he camped in a hickory grove. There, in his grief, he made three strings from a rush plant, forming in his mind words of compassion and consolation, rather than vengeance.

The 'Words of Condolence,' in Wampum

Hiawatha then gathered shells for the wampum strings and composed the "words of condolence" that would one day be central to the Great Law of Peace. "If I should see anyone in deep grief, I would take these shell strings from the pole and console them," he said. "These strings would become words that would lift away the darkness with which they are covered."

These words and others would eventually become the Great Law, codified in wampum shell strings for communication to future generations.

Hiawatha soon encountered members of the Oneida Nation, who had heard of him and of the dream that he would one day meet The Peacemaker. After sitting with them in council for seven days, Hiawatha traveled with their chief until he came to the Mohawks, where he would first encounter Deganawida.

'Hiawatha was a catalyst for peace and it was fortuitous that these two men met at that point in time. They knew what each other was looking for.'

Deganawida Converts Evil Beings-and Then Empowers Them

While Hiawatha was enduring his woes, another man named Deganawida was making plans to confront the warring nations of the Iroquois, or Haudenosaunee. Born into a Huron village, the boy was called by the Creator and imbued with miraculous powers. He paddled a stone canoe eastward across Lake Ontario to the land of the Iroquois with a message of "peace, righteousness and power."

As he approached the land of the Iroquois, The Peacemaker encountered a woman named Jigonsasehknown for luring men to her lodge and poisoning them to death. "The message I bring is that all people shall love one another and live together in peace," he told her. Her mind was transformed, and The Peacemaker then decided that women would have the power one day to choose chiefs, and to remove them if they no longer had the "good mind" to lead.

The Peacemaker then came upon Tekarihoken, "the man who eats humans," and convinced him to renounce cannibalism, entitling him in his new form as the first chief of Mohawks.

The Peacemaker then approached the Mohawks, unarmed, convincing them to be the first nation to adopt the Great Law of Peace, which would come to include ceremonies and rituals to safeguard health, peace, righteousness, justice and religion.

"Health means soundness of mind and body," The Peacemaker said. "It also means peace, for that is what comes when minds are sane and bodies cared for. Righteousness means justice practiced between men and between nations. It means a desire to see justice prevail."

The Gathering of Two Minds

When Hiawatha met with the Peacemaker among the Mohawks, they shared their stories and, in some accounts, Hiawatha became a spokesman for The Peacemaker. "The root of the name Hiawatha means to awaken, as in to awaken to a higher level of peaceful consciousness," says Jamie Jacobs. "Hiawatha was a catalyst for peace and it was fortuitous that these two men met at that point in time. They knew what each other was looking for."

Hiawatha learned from Deganawida how to establish a union of nations and how virtuous and patient the men would need to be. The new chiefs would wear deer antlers to symbolize their positions.

Winning Over the Sorcerer To Win Peace

The delegation then sent word of their plans back to the four other nations. Each took one year to consider joining the Great Law of Peace. After reporting back to the Mohawk nation on their success, the delegation then formed a plan to confront the fearsome Atotarhoh, who had to be won over for peace to prevail. He was found living alone at Onondaga, bent and crooked in seven places.

The Peacemaker taught the Mohawks songs, including the "Hymn of Peace," in preparation for the Oneida and Mohawk delegation to console and convert Atotarhoh. The Peacemaker sang the song as he approached the sorcerer, rubbing his crooked body to judge his strength. As he finished, Atotaroh's body straightened out and the snakes left his hair. Now, with his good and strong mind, the establishment of the Great Peace could begin.

At Onondaga, the Peacemaker uprooted the tallest white pine, the Tree of Peace, under which leaders buried their weapons of hate, jealousy and war. This came to be known as "burying the hatchet."

Atotaroh became the confederacy's central firekeeper, handing down the title to this day at Onondaga. Deganawida directed the people to not pass his name down as a hereditary title from the time of the formation of the Iroquois Confederacy. Today he is known simply as The Peacemaker.

Fact Check

We strive for accuracy and fairness. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How the Iroquois Confederacy Was Formed | HISTORY

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In the story of the Great Law of Peace, Hiawatha and the Peacemaker convince leaders of the Five Nations to literally bury the hatchet.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Lacrosse, America's oldest team sport, dates to 1100, when it was played by the Haudenosaunee, or Iroquois people, in what now is New York and areas in Canada bordering the state.

The early versions of lacrosse matches played by Native American nations included 100 to 1,000 men or more using wooden sticks, sometimes with net baskets or pockets attached, and small, deer hide-wrapped balls. Deer sinew formed nets. Borderless fields could span miles, and games could last days.

"Lacrosse was an integral part of Native Americans' culture," says Joe Finn, archivist at the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame and Museum. "It was played to prepare them for war, and it was also a social event where tribes would get together for trade and sport. It was sometimes used to settle disputes."

Native American oral traditions cite the first lacrosse game played between birds and mammals. Some Native Americans believe the sport was a gift from the Creator to be used for enjoyment and as medicine.

Onondaga Nation member Neal Powless, a former professional player for the Iroquois Nationals lacrosse team and a three-time collegiate All-American, says the sport is part of the Haudenosaunee creation story.

Powless points to one "rematriation" origin version in which a young woman and a chief, living in the Sky World, or a multiverse space, must marry to save their universe from destruction. But her attention is drawn to a lacrosse player who later dives through a hole torn in the multiverse to save her, and they mate before she lands on Earth.

"Lacrosse is part of that story of our creation, of our identity, of who we are," Powless says. "So, when we play the game, we always say that there's a simultaneous game going on in Sky World and our ancestors are playing with us."

The Europeans' Influence on Lacrosse

In the 1600s in Quebec, French missionaries first witnessed Native Americans playing the game, according to Finn. "It was given the name 'lacrosse' because the missionaries thought that the sticks resembled the bishop's cross carried during religious ceremonies," he says.

Early Native Americans played the game barefoot, with no equipment and a loose set of rules. European settlers established more stringent rules for the sport.

Lacrosse evolved in Canada, where it was named the national sport in 1859. In 1867, George Beers, a Montreal dentist, wrote the sport's first rulebook. "He once took a team of white and First Nation lacrosse players to England and played before Queen Victoria," Finn says.

"The game ... very pretty to watch," the queen wrote in in her diary following the match between Iroquois and Canadians, according to the National Lacrosse Museum and Hall of Fame. "It is played with a ball and there is much running."

Lacrosse As Medicine for Native Americans

Ceremonial medicine games are still played in Haudenosaunee communities to heal the sick, according to Powless. The Onodaga play an annual spring game with male participants of all ages.

"Players will show up with no pads, no equipment, just your wood stick," he says, adding that teams are determined by clan, house or age. "And the ages are whoever can walk. You're going to have 7-year-old kids running around with 80-year-old men on the same field."

Each community has its own rules and variations, he adds, and games often are played without a timekeeper, penalties or referees.

"Lacrosse isn't just a game, it's a medicine, it heals," Powless says. "You hear it time and time again how the spirit of the sport itself has healed people because they believe that it's medicine that speaks to the spirit and the soul."

Lacrosse Today and Other Facts

Canadian John Flannery, who founded the U.S. National Amateur Lacrosse Association in 1879, established lacrosse in the United States when he was transferred to Brooklyn by his employer, Finn says.

Contemporary lacrosse, dubbed " the fastest game on two feet" in 1921 by a Baltimore Sun sportswriter, takes place on a field with players using sticks with netting attached at one end to catch, carry, pass and shoot a small, rubber ball into the opposing team's goal.

The first women's lacrosse game took place in Scotland in 1890, and the first American women's team formed in 1926 at a Baltimore secondary school. Lacrosse was played at the Olympics in 1904 and 1908, and as an exhibition sport in 1928, 1936 and 1948. In 2021, the International Olympic Committee granted the sport full recognition, paving the way for a possible Olympics return in 2028.

Finn says the development of mass-produced lighter and easier-to-handle plastic and metal sticks in the late 1960s and early 1970s made the game faster and increased scoring.

But it's the spirit of the game that remains most important to Powless. He references the Thompson brothers, standout professional lacrosse players and members of the Onondaga Nation.

"They will say we don't play for the name on the back of our jersey or the name on the front," he says. "We play for Creator and that we will have a good game and the score will be whatever the score will be and we're going to do our best."

Fact Check

We strive for accuracy and fairness. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Native American Origins of Lacrosse | HISTORY

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The sport, which dates to 1100 A.D., was a social event and sometimes played to settle disputes.