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N. American (Maria U 2:30)
History of the Iroquois in 1450
The language in North America during the 1400’s was based on six different languages. These languages were similar to one another in the same way that French, Spanish and Italian are related to one another. The differences between these languages are merely phological. Meaning the differences between them are in sound pronunciation and perception (Usner, 25-30). What is interesting about their language is that both men and women alike used it to communicate directly with one another. Women were allowed to speak openly and were even in charge of nominating the chiefs successor. Although they were not allowed to run the council they could remove those whom they felt were not doing the job properly (Tooker, 44). Such respect for women demonstrates that the Iroquois communicated effectively and directly with one another. Those who were in power most often were taught to speak the Mohawk dialect of the Iroquois confederacy. The reason for this being that it was the language spoken during Great Council and during most religious festivals. It was also a status marker in for those who knew how to speak more than one of the six languages (Wilson, 210-213).
The most important part of the Iroquois language was the oral traditions-storytelling. Storytelling was used to teach history, how to behave, traditions and to provide explanation of why things are the way they are in the natural world. It also was a great source of enjoyment for tribe members. To become a great orator one must be able to speak eloquently, be humerus, persuasive and communicate well (Haudenosaunee oral traditions). If a member of the tribe was seen as having a great memory, he was trained to remember the history, treaties and other important events. He was in a sense the tribe’s historian (Tooker, 45-46). Other great orators, male or female, were storytellers that entertained and taught children proper ways to behave. The written language of the Eastern Iroquois consisted of these letters: a e h i k n o r s t w y. This language of a particular eastern tribe, the Mohawks had three dialects within its own language different from the six other tribes in surrounding areas. With in the structure of this language and its three dialects are many points of syntax which distinguish it from other languages for example there are prefixes on the adjectives (Wilson, 209). This differs from the English language in that many of our verbs have suffixes. For example, we have “ing” which we place at the end of verbs to make words present tense. In the Mohawk language prefixes, “ra”, “ron”, “ro”, “ren” are placed in front the verb depending on the verb and the tense. Another major difference between the Mohawk language and English is the use of gender as pronominal distinction. Other languages such as French and Spanish also use this pronominal distinction, however, the English language does not.
Another form of communication used by Native American’s are smoke signals. While I could find no articles with the exact wording that Mohawk’s used smoke signals, it was widely believed that many Indian tribes used smoke signals as a means of communication. However, smoke signals were only used to communicate through great distances and often the message was predetermined and relayed from communicator to receiver(Tooker, 51-52). This is due to the fact that there are no specific patterns or codes, simply because smoke signals could also be viewed by enemies as well as the intended receiver. Yet, it is believed that one puff of smoke is sent to gain attention and two puffs of smoke mean everything is ok. Three puffs of smoke indicated something is wrong. Boys Scouts of America still use this Native American method today to indicated something is wrong (Smoke Signals).
It is important to note that through time the Mohawk culture has changed dramatically and with its culture so has its language. Many Iroquois tribes including the Mohawks now speak English as their language. This is because of the many European invasions that took place in the 1600’s (Wilson, 212-213). However, as the tribe tries to reclaim its heritage it has begun to offer classes to children and to adults to teach them the native language, Kahnawà:ke, in hopes of reviving the language.
Biblography:
Haudenosaunee oral traditions. (n.d.). Retrieved from www.iroquoismuseum.org/ve5.htm
Smoke signals. (2010). Retrieved from http://www.indians.org/articles/smoke-signals.html
Usner, Daniel H. . Indian Work: language and livelihood in Native American History. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 2009. 25-42. Print.
Wilson, Edmund. Apologies to the Iroquois: with a study of the Mohawks in high steel. New York, NY: Straus and Cudahy, 1960. 201-213. Print
Tooker, Elizabeth. Iroqouis culture, history, prehistory: proceedings. Albany : University of the State of New York, 1967. 41-52. Print.
Environment
The northeast region of North America had a wide arrange of climate back in the year 1450 A.D. The winters were brutally cold with snow, blizzards, and hail. It wasn’t unusual for winters to come as early as mid October and stay as late as mid April. Snowfall can range from 200 inches in the region of present-day upstate New York, to about a foot in the coastal areas of present-day New Jersey. The summers were extremely hot and humid. Rainfall varies from over 50 inches annually in some coastal areas, to 32 inches in the western part of the region.(Zielinski, 3-15).
The Northeastern terrain ranges from the rocky coastline of the Atlantic Ocean, to fertile farmland, to huge forests, and to the mountainous regions of the Appalachians. There were five major rivers that cut through the northeast and emptied into the Atlantic Ocean: Delaware River, Hudson, Connecticut River, Kennebec River, and the Susquehanna River. Two of the Great Lakes form the northern border of the region; Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. Northeastern North America was covered in forests and wildflowers. The different types of trees were mainly coniferous trees and maple trees. Coniferous trees, mostly cone-bearing trees, include: spruces, hemlocks, pines and firs. Most of the coniferous trees have leaves that are small and needle-like, or scale-like. These trees stay green year round and hence got the name evergreens. They are able to survive extreme cold and acidic soil. Maple trees also grew in the northeast and the Iroquois learned to tap these trees for their sweet sap. (Peattie, 1-10). The earliest flowers to bloom in the spring were woodland plants such as hepaticas, trilliums, bloodroot, and spring beauty. The Iroquois Indians also planted their own crop. They planted tobacco, melon, and pumpkin. They also planted corn, beans and squash, which were called the three sisters. ("Mr.Donn.org").
Typically the animals that lived in Northeastern America included: deer, bear, wild turkey, rodents, wolves, eagles, and moose.(Whitaker, 165-72). Fish were also plentiful in this region with all the rivers, lakes, and the Atlantic Ocean. There were bass, smelt, trout, and pike. Fishing season was mostly in the spring once the ice and snow had melted. ("Mr.Donn.org")
There was an abundance of natural resources and minerals available in the northeastern region. There was water for fishing and drinking, fertile land for planting, animals for food, and trees for wood. Animal skins were used to make robes, blankets, and tanned buckskin was used for clothing. The antlers and bones from animals were used to make weapons, tools, and ornaments. There was a lot of red clay that was used to make pots. Iroquois Indians used flint to make knives and arrowheads. Flint (also called chert) was a hard brittle mineral found in the local bedrock. ("Some Iroquois Artifacts").
There are many resources and minerals that exist in northeastern United States, but were not discovered there by 1450. In the Appalachian region there is coal, petroleum, zinc, and iron. Copper exists in the area of present-day Vermont. The Bald Mountain of Maine contains gold, silver, copper, and zinc.
Bibliography:
Peattie, Donald. A natural history of trees of eastern and central North America. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1991. 1-10. Print.
Zielinski, Gregory, and Barry Keim. New England Weather, New England Climate. Lebanon, NH: UPNE, 2003. 3-15. Print.
Whitaker, John , and William Hamilton. Mammals of the Eastern United States. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1998. 165-72. Print.
"Daily Life in Olden Times Northeast Iroquois Nation ." mrdonn.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Sep 2010. http://nativeamericans.mrdonn.org/northeast/iroquois/food.html.
"New York State Museum." Some Iroquois Artifacts. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Sep 2010. http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/IroquoisVillage/slidetwoa.html.
Education and Child-Rearing
Universally the Iroquois placed a very high value on children. Their society is described as matrilineal, meaning members trace their heritage and identity through their mothers rather then their fathers. Women, especially elder women had a high position in society and were described as “sowers of wisdom and givers of life, the guardians of the next generation” (Mann 241). It only then made sense that women had authority over matters of the family, such as childbearing and child rearing. Fathers were included in the raising of children but because the mother daughter bond was so valued and women had total say over their children they could decide whether or not to acknowledge the father. For men it was an honor to be publicly acknowledged as a father so they regularly pampered the pregnant women(Mann 267-8). In Iroquois culture the birth of a girl child was seen as twice as important as a boy by both men and women.
Women regularly gave birth and went right back to work necessitating that the child was kept with the mother almost constantly. Children were carried everywhere and doted upon by everyone in the tribe. The belief was that children should be undivided center of the elders and family until they could walk. This attention was believed to provide a deep sense of worth, self-control and responsibility. At age five children reached the age of self-sufficiency and mothers would not have other children until their child had reached that age (Mann 266). Settlers criticized their small families as proof they were inferior but in fact the Iroquois saw large families as irresponsible because it was dangerous for the mother to give birth multiple times and in case of a raid there would be too many children to care for rather then defend the group. If a woman was considered over burdened, adoption was a common practice because caring for others children was considered “pleasing to the Great Spirit” ( Mann 266).
The Iroquois style of child-rearing can best be described as permissive, and corporal punishment was completely unheard of. They believed children learn best through experience and adults would only intervene if the child was in immediate danger. Because the Iroquois were a communal society public opinion was very important, and the worst punishment was to be verbally rebuked in a public forum (Mann 272. They guided and shaped behavior by using verbal reinforcement and punishment. If a child did something good an adult would say something like “how good you are for carrying that wood” and the adults around would echo the praise to the child; and the same was true for negative verbal responses (Mann 273). This was effective not only because of their collectivist culture but because of the importance of verbal communication. The strongest form of punishment was to throw water in a child’s face (Morgan 286) but it rarely went past the threat of throwing water.
Women were completely responsible for caring for and educating the children until the reached adulthood at age twelve. At this point boys and girls split off for gendered education and counseling by mentors. Boys not only learned to hunt, track, about herbs and basic medicine but also to be custodians of resources and the community (George-Kanetiio 39). The girls also learned about their traditional roles, as well as about sex and sexuality. However, contrary to stereotypes, both gender’s education went far past their traditional roles, and they were extensively introduced to civic life, public roles and their roles as citizens (Mann 275).
Works Cited
George-Kanetiio, Doug. Iroquois on Fire: a voice from the Mohawk nation. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers, 2006. Print. (E99.M8 G46) Mann, Barbara Alice. Iroquoian Women: the Gantowisas. New York: Peter Lang Publishing Inc, 2000. Print. (E99.I69 M35)
Morgan, Lewis H. League of the Ho-De-No Sau-Ne or Iroquois Volume II. New Haven: Human Relations Area Files, 1954. Print. (E99.I7 M84
Media and Technology
The media and technology of Native North American Indians in the 1400's was very different from what we have today. Media was mainly spoken language, songs, and storytelling. There were six basic spoken languages, though all were fairly similar to one another. These languages included Mohawk, Seneca, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Tuscarora. Occasionally people would learn to speak more than one of those languages, especially Mohawk. Men with important standings would learn Mohawk because that was the main language at the Great Council and at religious festivals.
Songs and music played a big part in the media of the Native North American Indians back in the 1400's. Two very important musical instruments back then were the drums and the flute. The Iroquois would often fill their drums with water so that they would sound different from other tribe's drums. The music they played was usually rhythmic and lively, full of singing and drumming. Flutes were a very important part of courtship in Iroquois tribes. At night, a young man would stand outside of a girl's longhouse and play beautiful music on the flute, just to show the girl that he was thinking of her.
Storytelling was also a very important part of the culture of the ancient Iroquois Indians. Most of the stories told were legends and fairy tales. The main purposes of storytelling were for entertainment, history, and learning. A lot of the stories were told to the children to teach them how to act. Some stories were told simply to pass down old facts about the tribe's past, while some were to explain deeper philosophical meanings. Almost all storytelling was done verbally, although there was a written language.
Connections with outside tribes took place mainly in the form of wars or trading. Iroquois Indians were fierce warriors, trained from a young age and wielding many kinds of weapons. They often fought with other tribes in the East, such as the Wabanaki, Algonquin, and Ojibway tribes. Some of the weapons they had include bows and arrows, blowguns, darts, and spears. Tips of arrows could be made with turtle shell or antler bone, making them extremely hard. They had a great war strategy, using the land to blend in with the scenery. They would attack quickly, and use a small number of men to sneak up on the enemy. They were not always at war, however. The Iroquois Indians traded with other tribes as well as fight with them. Some things they traded include corn, tobacco, and woodcrafts.
The technology that the Native North American Indians had was used mainly in survival, not entertainment. Compared to today, the technology of the 1450's Indians was very basic. Most of their “technology” was in the form of tools to help accomplish chores. Wood was the basic material for any tools used. The Iroquois learned to bend wood by using steam, and would use that technique to make curved roof's on their longhouses. They had no heating or cooling system in the longhouses, and no windows. There were two doors, one at either end of the sometimes 100 feet long longhouses, that were the only opening to the outside. These were covered with animal skins during the winter to keep it a little warmer inside. Longhouses had little light because of the absence of windows, so it was normally fairly dark inside. Wood was used greatly by the Iroquois, and they would use small hand axes to chop the wood. These small hand axes were called “stone adzes”. For skinning animals they used flint knives, and for farming they had wooden hoes. The Native American Indians had no cars or even wheeled transportation of any kind. At this point they had never heard of horse-back-riding, so almost all travel was done on foot across land. Occasionally canoes were used for travel on rivers.
Children entertained themselves with many different games. The Iroquois Indians were very respectful of anything they killed, whether plants or animals, so they saw it as very important to use every part of the plant or animal they killed. This led to very creative ways of using things. When a part could not be used for building material, food, or clothing, it became a piece for games. For example, the Indians had left over wood so they invented something called “The Snow Snake Games”. This became a huge annual event every winter after the men came back from their hunt. Each player would carve their own snake out of wood, and the purpose was to throw this snake as far as you could. There were teams, and the distance each person threw their snake was added to the teams overall score. Whatever team had the longest total distance won.
Even though there are many huge differences in the media and technology of the 1400's Native North American Indians and us, we both had the same basic purpose in mind - survival, comfort, human interaction, and entertainment.
Works Cited
"Iroquois Longhouse." Indians.org. N.p., 2010. Web 22 Sep 2010. http://www.indians.org/articles/iroquois-longhouse.html.
“Northeast Iroquois Nation: Village Life.” Daily Life in Olden Times. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Sep 2010. http://nativeamericans.mrdonn.org/northeast/eroquois/villagelife.html.
Redish, Laura, and Orrin Lewis. "Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Indian Fact Sheet." Native American Facts. Native Languages of the Americas website, 2009. Web. 22 Sep 2010. <http://bigorrin.org/iroquois_kids.htm>.
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Gender Roles
North America in the 1400’s was made up into two genders, men and women. These two genders are still very common to today’s society. The Iroquois culture was based on equal rights for both genders. They had a law called “ ‘The Great Law of Dekanawida’ which gives approximately equal rights to each sex” (Wikipedia). A person known as Dekanawidah, was known as the author of the “Great Law” this law bounded the five Indian nations together as one. Before this law was put into play there were murders and violence within the tribes. There were similar laws before the “Great Law of Dekanawida”
Men and women were looked as equal in these tribes, but they both had different roles. Men were most known for being in charge of hunting, trading with other people/tribes, and war. On the other hand the women were in charge of farming, property, and the family. Sometimes these roles would overlap between the men and women. According to the book Women and Freedom, In Early America, that neither men or women in the Iroquois society were independent, the interdependence and balance of male and female were socially, culturally, economically, and politically necessary to survive.
When it came to marriage women traded with their husbands and husbands’ families upon marriage. According to the same book Women and Freedom, In Early America, “Anthropologist often assume that in tribal societies the husband or his family took a leading role in marriage bargain and that any exchange between the husband and the wife’s family is a form of ‘bride price’ or purchase of the wife. Iroquois women often took the initiative in seeking husbands for themselves. It was noted that the women were more in change of arranging the marriage than the men were. In the end these marriages were not unequal, but reciprocal. The Iroquois culture was divided into two parts, which was the center and the periphery. The women usually worked in the center, which the men worked in the periphery. The Iroquois men thought the bond between women and the crops was so intimate and sacred that only women were qualified and able to bring the crops to harvest. (Green).
When it came to politics, the Matrons (which are the senior women that are in charge of the long houses) had the right to choose and get rid of the “league sachems” (chiefs) (Green). So what this is all saying is that the women had the choices of who was in charge of each tribe. The chiefs (men) made all of the military decisions and trade agreements. When the Iroquois went to the Confederacy at the Great Council were men, but women chose the men that would go. So both genders took part of the politics.
When it came to story telling, artwork, music, and traditions both genders took major roles. One thing the women did not do was play the flute. They did not because the men wanted to “woo” the women so they played the flute (Redish).
Works Cited
Bloch, Ruth H. Gender and Morality in Anglo-American Culture 1650-1800. Los Angeles, CA: University Of California Press, 2003. Print.
Eldridge, Larry D. . Women And Freedom In Early America. New York, NY : New York University Press, 1997. Print.
"Gender Roles in First Nations and Native American Tribes." Wikipedia . N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Sep 2010. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender_roles_in_First_Nations_and_Native_American_tribes>.
Jaffary, Nora E. . Gender, Race, and Religion in the Colonization of the Americas. Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing company, 2007. Print.
Redish , L. "Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Indian Fact Sheet." Native American Facts For Kids. N.p., 09. Web. 22 Sep 2010. <http://bigorrin.org/iroquois_kids.htm>.
Exchange
Iroquois Indian Exchange System
The Iroquois Indians existed for centuries before the influx of Europeans into North America. Their exchange methods, how they traded goods, aand their overall way of living make up a very different culture than our own. It is pivotal to understand that they did not have a perception of money in 1450, and instead lived in something akin to a barter culture, although not exactly. In Iroquois civilization, everyone owned all of the land, and everyone was expected to provide for themselves at the same time.Their belief was that the, "Great spirit", had provided everything for everyone, and that basically everyone should provide from themselves, and take from others as needed.
If someone wanted something, they did not trade, or exchange it for another good, but instead took from the bounty that was the tribes, or found a way to acquire it themselves. Women owned essentially everything and were in charge of the distribution of goods between the individuals of the tribe. So, if someone was hungry, they would take from the bounty of others, and if they had extra, would also provide it to their peers. However, it get's slightly more complicated because the man ultimately performed the right of sharing even though everything was considered the woman's. An interesting example of how this social dynamic worked is explained by Arthur Parker in Parker on the Iriquois, he explains that, "An Iroquois man must be ever generous and give to everyone who asked for his arms or meat, if he brought his bear to the village it became public property, to the material injury of himself and family.(Parker 22)" He continues to explain how a wife was told to bring however much back , but was not allowed to share what she did because she was sent on a task, and it was the man's right to perform the ritual. However, once the food was prepared, it automatically became property of the tribe, and anyone could have their fill. In this way we see that there was no monetary system of exchange for the Iroquois, but instead a mass sharing of sorts. The lands native to the tribe's of the Iroquois were also so rich in good soil and hunting frontiers that no outside trading was even needed, until the coming of the Europeans centuries later when they began to trade for guns and European fabric. If the Iroquois had traded with other Indians in 1450, they probably would have used pelts, or the Wampum as their method of currency.
Many Europeans were very surprised when they first found the Iroquois because of the stock loads of food, and large fields of crops that the Iroquois kept. They believed that as air, and water, "The Great Spirit", also stocked the world with animals and other food and that it was not for the few but for the good of all.Lewis Morgan explains this in League of the Iroquois by saying, "As the great spirit created man, and all useful animals, and products of the earth,so the evil spirit created all monsters, poisonous reptiles, and noxious plants (Morgan 147-148). Other goods were sometimes given as gifts, but because of the great responsibility inherent in their culture, most adornments or ornaments were made or found by an individual himself. Exchange of any kind was used to benefit the entire culture, all of the Iroquois, and relationships as well as a sense of comfort for everyone was essential in their culture. Their culture also probably traded with other Indians at some point, but the general consensus was that if they found outside tribe's they would probably either attack or not approach, instead of trying to trade.
Works Cited
Parker, Arthur. Parker on the Iroquois: Syracuse, New York: Syracuse University Press, 1968. print
Morgan, Lewis. League of the HO-DE-NO SAU-NEE OR Iroquois: New haven, Connecticut:Human relations Area Files, 1954. print
Grinde Jr, Donald. The Iroquois and the Founding of the American Nation: Indian Historian Press, Inc, 1977. print
Subsistence
The Iroquois Indian tribe, or Haudenosaunee (People of the long house), inhabited the land in Northeastern North America. The Iroquois nation was originally composed of five separate, but equal, tribes: Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca nations. They were called the people of the long house due to the shape of the houses that the tribe built (Miroff and Knapp 2009: xiv). They were a cylindrical shape similar to the same of an airplane hangar of today’s society. The Iroquois grew a variety of fruits and vegetables, hunted their own game, and made their own tools. Due to the lack of the technologies that we know today, the Iroquois tribe lived solely off what the land gave them, which consisted of mainly crops. The most important crops that were grown included corn, beans, and squash (Strauss 2000: 57). Corn was mostly prepared into corn soup. Sometimes meat was added to this soup depending on the resources available when the meal was being prepared. This soup was made in large clay cauldrons (Strauss 2000: 59). Most meals that the Iroquois prepared consisted of a corn product, since there was an abundance of corn that they planted. Beans were also used frequently in all sorts of dishes such as soups and stews and even occasionally breads. Several types of squash, such as pumpkins, watermelons, and cucumbers were eaten as well. Pumpkins and cucumbers were baked, boiled, or roasted, while watermelons were eaten fresh (Strauss 2000: 64). The squash were baked or roasted in the ashes of a fire or boiled using a vessel made of clay. Then, the flowers of the squash plant were boiled into a sauce and used to flavor the meat (Strauss 2000: 65). Along with the vegetables, the Iroquois also ate a variety of fruits, berries and nuts. The main fruits included apples, cherries, figs, pears, plums, and persimmons (Strauss 2000: 66). The berries the tribe ate were blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, cranberries, strawberries, elderberries, and a variety of other berries that grew throughout the forests. These fruits and berries were sometimes eaten right off the plant itself, but most of the time they were used to flavor meat, bread, or stew. Nuts, like acorns, chestnuts, hickories, walnuts, beechnuts, and butternuts were also used for flavoring purposes as well as substance (Strauss 2000: 67). Another important resource to people of the Northeast was sunflower seeds, not necessarily for the seeds, but for the oil they produce. This oil was stored in underground pits and used for flavoring and frying (Strauss 2000: 69). Mushrooms, puffballs, roots, and lichens were also eaten by a variety of the Iroquois tribes. They were peeled, cut up, and boiled along with grease or meat for a meal (Strauss 2000: 70). Typically the women were in charge of gathering fruits, vegetables, and berries, but if the hunting was done, the men would help (Miroff and Knapp 2009: 37).
Since Indians didn’t have the modern weapons that we see hunters using today, it is understandable that hunting wild game would have been quite a chore performed by the males. The number one meat source used by the Iroquois was venison. Deer were plentiful in the forests, so the Indians could find them fairly easily. Bear, elk, and moose were other large game animals that were hunted by Indians, but they were much tougher to kill. A moose’s tongue and lips we considered a delicacy. Smaller game included beaver, rabbit, muskrat, large rat, possum, raccoon, and squirrel. Most of the meat they ate was roasted or broiled over the open fire, but it was boiled in soups for flavor as well. Also, some of the small game such as rabbit and rat was cooked on a stick (Strauss 2000: 73). Fish, whitefish, sturgeon, salmon, lamprey, herring, shad, mackerel, and eel, were another primary source of food (Strauss 2000: 74). As far as beverages were concerned, they stuck to primarily water, which they preferred warm. They didn’t drink much with meals though, because they ate mostly soups, which gave them plenty of liquids. When they did have a beverage, it was usually byproduct of the main course, such as the grease skimmed off the top of a boiling kettle.
In order to hunt and collect their own food, the Iroquois were forced to create their own tools for hunting and for storage. The tools for hunting were very limited since they had not yet been introduced to resources like iron and copper. So, they used what was readily available to them: rocks, clay and sometimes bone. They mainly used rocks that were on the surface of the ground and used other rocks to chip away at them until they had sharp arrow points. Once they had the arrow itself, a tree branch and grass was used to create the arrow as well as the bow. They also used clay, which they could hand carve into the shape needed, but they would likely break after the first shot. They used these same resources to make javelins and tomahawks, but likely stuck to large rocks instead of clay (Schoolcraft 1847: 221). When used, bone was carved into daggers. These same tools for hunting were also used in times of war. Men were in charge of the hunting and using such weaponry, but the women knew how to handle them for security reasons. Another purpose for the clay was making pots and vases to cook meals and store oils and fats for cooking. Clay was molded by hand by the women in the tribe and then heated over a fire to harden the clay for use (Schoolcraft 1847: 223). Along with clay, gourds were also used to hold liquids. Grass, corn husk, and reeds were used to hold, store, or carry food items. The women tied and twisted into sacks, bags, and baskets. Bowls and spoons were also made using wood, bark, or clay, although both were said to have been much larger than what we use today. A spoon could hold up to a pint of liquid (Strauss 2000: 79). Because food was so vital to survival, storage was an essential. Food that was not stored in the huts was stored in underground pits, which were great because the ground would naturally regulate the temperature (Strauss 2000: 80).
In conclusion, the Iroquois tribe was very sophisticated in technology for only living off the land. They survived by working together to achieve the common goal of survival. They were creative in their methods and tools and constantly changed to different techniques of work habits.
Works Cited
Miroff, Laurie E., and Timothy D. Knapp. Iroquoian Archaeology and Analytic Scale. Knoxville: University of Tennessee, 2009. Print. Nabhan, Gary. “Make your Thanksgiving dinner a celebration of American Indian foods.” Indian Country Today 26 Nov. 2003, Ethnic NewsWatch (ENW), Proquest. Web. 29 Sep. 2010.
Strauss, Alisa Natalie. Iroquoian food techniques and technologies: An examination of Susquehannock vessel form and function. Diss. The Pennsylvania State University, 2000. Dissertations & Theses: Full Text, ProQuest. Web. 29 Sep. 2010.
Schoolcraft, Henry Rowe. Notes on the Iroquois, or Contributions to American History, Antiquities, and General Ethnology. Albany: Erastus H. Pease &, 1847. Print.
1. Gourd container for liquids 2. bone dagger 3.bow and arrows for hunting 4.tomahawk (before metals) 5.large clay vase
Family Life
Sex, Love, and Marriage in the 1450s
The Iroquois view of sex, love, and marriage was very different yet somewhat the same within our culture today. The Iroquois culture socialized its people to become sexually active at a young age. As for the women in the Iroquois culture, they were born into this sexually active society once they had begun the cycle called menstruation. Iroquois people of this community ultimately believed that women who were undergoing this process possessed spiritual powers that could be used as good or bad (Mays 204). Therefore, they believed and practiced isolation during this time, to ultimately help themselves as women, be protected against any blame for tragedies that could be caused. All sexual relationships were also cut off during this time as well.
Sex, according to the Iroquois culture, was not seen nearly as serious as it is in our culture today. Premarital sex was viewed normally and was something that was not taught to be viewed as shameful; it was more accepted in society than banned (Mays 202). As for sexual taboos, public display of affection was seen as forbidden towards this society. Although sex was accepted, showing off this affection was not in any way honored. Kissing was actually unidentified until the arrival of the Europeans. Essentially, any relationships were kept very “private”.
The Iroquois practiced the idea of a “bride price”. Once a young man in this society wished to marry a girl, the man began by asking the woman’s family for consent. If the family approved of this marriage, the marriage was distinguished with a tremendous celebration (Mays 203) Women in this society were almost never forced into a marriage that they didn’t find satisfying. Iroquois women were also known for often seeking husbands for themselves. It was conveyed that the women were more in charge of assembling the marriage than the men were. As for marriage, the Iroquois didn’t essentially prefer a monogamous marriage lifestyle. Thus, it was sometimes known for some men often to take more than one wife in order to set family alliances. In saying that, the Iroquois believed that if the husband was to die, the culture made it custom that the husband’s brother would marry the widowed wife. They also believed that if the couple decided to get a divorce, the children would stay with the mother.
Once a man married, he moved into his wife's longhouse. The Iroquois believed it to be forbidden to marry anyone from your own clan, so when any woman married, a new man arrived in the longhouse. The men usually only brought a few things with them, such as a few weapons and some clothing. Once this marriage was established, women controlled much of the life in the longhouse. The longhouse was named the “longhouse” due to the shape of the houses that the tribe built (Miroff and Knapp xiv). Most of the families of the tribe lived together in these houses. Each family was then assigned to their own section in the house. The house was constructed by a selection of fireplaces and fire pits that ran down the middle of the longhouse to produce heat and sharing space for individual families to cook their food and prepare meals. Longhouses were so important to the Iroquois way of life that the Iroquois called themselves "the People of the Longhouse".
As for the women in this culture, they didn’t depend on men for economic or emotional support (Mays 204). Most women were supporters of themselves. For example, most women were in charge of what we would call most stereotypical “motherly” duties. As for these women, they were in charge of harvesting most of the food for the family. This includes wild fruits and vegetables, as well as tending to these crops and harvesting them. Iroquoian women were mostly viewed as gathers in their society, while men were hunting game for meat. Women also were the providers for most of the food and storage, and therefore were usually the potters who formed the clay pots for use and preparation for food (Schoolcraft 223).
As for the family life in the Iroquoian tribe, most children were raised by observing their family members and forming gender role ideas from their same gender provider. For example, boys helped their fathers, while women helped their mothers. Iroquoian women took great pride in their families, especially their children for the reason that their excellent qualities of their children were an indication on their own skills as a mother.
Work Cited
Miroff, Laurie E., and Timothy D. Knapp. Iroquoian Archaeology and Analytic Scale. Knoxville: University of Tennessee, 2009. Print.
Schoolcraft, Henry Rowe. Notes on the Iroquois, or Contributions to American History, Antiquities, and General Ethnology. Albany: Erastus H. Pease &, 1847. Print.
Art
Much of the knowledge of the Iroquois art comes from the research of Carl Waldman. One of the main forms of Iroquois art was the technique of basket weaving. Although they were not considered art at the time, they did provide more functional uses such as carrying, storage, cooking, they were even used as fish traps. The woven baskets were created from twigs, splints of wood, inner bark, roots, canes, reeds, fronds, vines, and grasses. There were three different techniques the Indians used to weave baskets. Plaited baskets have two components that cross over each other. Twined baskets have a collection of vertical wraps and two or more horizontal filling materials that coil around each other as they weave in and out of the wraps. Coiled baskets have thin strips of wood, fibers, leaves, or grass which were wrapped into a bunch and twisted into a continuous spiral. Some baskets were covered with resin to hold water. Resin is a secretion made by coniferous trees that was generally used as an adhesive by the northeastern Native Americans. One basket style typical of the Iroquois tradition was the ash-splint basket. (Waldman pp.53-54) Metal work was not typically known for until after contact with the Europeans. Metal goods were highly valued, for their efficiency of tools. Many Indians obtained metal for their raw materials, which were reinvented into a new object. (Waldman pp. 54-55)
Pottery was also an art that was considering useful in the everyday life of northeastern Indians. There were generally different techniques that were incorporated in each region. Coiling consisted of building clay up from a base. Modeling and paddling was a technique where clay was molded onto an object, while the potter turned the molded and patted it with a rock. The clay was then fired by turning the clay upside down and putting them on stones with fire underneath them. Pottery was then decorated by a mix of clay and water called slip. The engravings were then usually outlined with black paint. Effigy’s which were a depiction of humans were carved into most pottery. Women of the Iroquois tribe were usually the skilled pottery makers. (Waldman pp. 54)
The Iroquois were also highly skilled at quill work. They would use porcupine needles that had been soaked in water for a period of time to soften, which were then dipped in dye to make symbols such as animals and flower on different materials. (Waldman pp. 55)
The Iroquois used wampum, which were beads made of shell as ceremonial belts, for tribal records. They were then ground into purple and white beads, and strung which became a use of currency after contact with the Europeans. (Waldman pp. 55)
Most of the tribes got paint and dye by extracting them from various plants as well as several raw materials. Most warm colors were from iron ores, cooler colors came from copper ore, black was extracted from graphite and soot, and white came from gypsum. They used a variety of these paints to decorate their bodies, shields, clothes, pottery, and ceremonial objects. Their body paint and tattoos were often symbolic of their status and social power. (Waldman pp. 55-56)
One of the most famous Iroquois artifacts that have been excavated was masks called false faces. Much of what we know about these masks comes from the research and findings of Robert Ritzenthaler. The masks are generally viewed as grotesque in today’s society, but they served as an important role in religious ceremonies the Iroquois tribes held. They were usually worn by male members in order to heal the ill. The masks feature long black hair, with a distorted nose, and red or black paint and were carved out of basswood. The origin of the masks comes from the myth about the Creator of the world and the first False-face spirit, and the contest of whom should rule the world. The False-face shook his rattle but the mountain only moved half way, the Creator moved the mountain behind the False-face, and in dismay he turned around hastily and broke his nose. The Creator then deemed False-face the duty to eliminate disease from the world. False-face cured the ill by blowing ashes into their faces. The Indians were then supposed to honor the deed by carving masks in his image, and were to make offerings to the spirit. (Ritzenthaler 13-14)
Another type of mask that was created by the Iroquois was the Husks-faces. The spirits were believed to have taught the Iroquois the practice of agriculture and hunting. They also have healing skills. The masks are created by braiding corn husks, and are sewn together to form faces, which are then surrounded by a trimming of husk strands. (Ritzenthaler 15)
Works Cited
Ritzenthaler, Robert E. (1969). Iroquois False-face Masks (pp. 13-15). Milwaukee: Milwaukee Public Museum. Snow, D. (1980). The Archaeology of North America (First ed. , pp. 80-81). Thames and Hudson Inc.
Waldman, C. (2000). Atlas of the North American Indian (pp. 52-56). New York: Checkmark Books.
Core Values and Beliefs
They believe in the spirits of nature. They rely on nature and crops for their existence which is why they pray to those spirits and perform dances and rituals for these spirits to "bless" their tribe with a good harvest. (Doak)
They do not place each other in a hierarchy or authority. In the Iroquois, they are more focused on kinship and personal relationships. Like Wesh's example.
Their spiritual beliefs are like a web. They are all attached from the sky to the earth to the animals to each other. They don't have separate beliefs, it all just combines to get a whole overall understanding of how deeply they are attached to nature. (Doak)
They have different representations. Like Sky Woman gives birth to a daughter she dies and was buried (Mother Earth) and from that grew beans, corn and squash. Which were the 3 sisters. They have a good brother who tended the crops (rain and sunshine) to keep them growing and an evil brother who ruined the crops (thorns, predators, parasites...) (Booth)
European settlers first thought of these spiritual practices as barbaric. Just think of the Pocahontas story.
Each person has a spiritual power known as Orenda. It is this spiritual power within each person that weaves the thread through the rest of creation. A strong Orenda means a strong spiritual connection and kinship with nature. (Gill)
God! Sing ye meadow streams with gladsome voice! Ye pine-groves, with your soft and soul-like sounds! Ye Eagles, playmates of the mountain storm! Ye lightnings, the dread arrows of the clouds! Ye signs and wonders of the elements, Utter forth God, and fill the hills with praise! Earth, with her thousand voices, praises God! (Allen)
WORKS CITED:
Michail Doak. Native American Spirituality. December 28, 2001,
<http://religousmovements.lib.virginia.edu/nrms/naspirit.html> (September 11, 2003)
Paula Gunn Allen. The Sacred Hoop: A Contemporary Indian Perspective on American Literature. In Hobson, The Remembered Earth, University of New Mexico Press: 1981, p225
Gill, Sam D. Native American Religions Encyclopedia of the American Religious Experience. VolI. Lippy, Charles H. and Peter W. Williams, eds. New York: Scribner's Sons. p141
Annie L. Booth, Harvey L. Jacobs. Ties that Bind: Native American Beliefs as a Foundation for Environmental Consciousness. In Environmetal Ethics. 12, no. 1, (Spring 1990):33
Politics and Society The Iroquois are a confederation of 5 Indian nations that was formed in the 1500s and it includes the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca nations. It’s centralized. The confederation or the five nations was headed by the great council. The great council consisted of 50 sachems that represented the 5 nations. Onondaga has 14, Cayuga has 10, Oneida has 9, Mohawk has 9, and Seneca has 8. The confederacy was formed because they wanted to stop the constant fighting that happened between the nations. They also had a form of government with two houses; much like the two houses in parliament. The Mohawk and Oneida formed the “elder” house with the Cayuga and Seneca formed the “younger” house. While the Onondaga who were in the center of the nations served as the tie breaker and the place where great council would be held. The men were the ones who served on council but it was the women who decided and nominated which men they would be. In international affairs each nation is independent which is why in the revolutionary war Iroquois were on both sides. In each nation the people were divided into clans of matrilineal decent. Because they were matrilineal the men were the ones who moved in with the woman and the inheritance of property was passed down the wives side. If a woman no longer wants a man she can kick him out of her longhouse with all his property while she gets to keep the children. The clans were Wolf, Bear, Turtle, Sandpiper, Dear, Beaver, Heron, Hawk, and Eel. They had a society that hunted and gathered, but their main source of food was agriculture. The three main crops they grew were corn, beans, and squash. And they called them the three sisters because they were so vital for the Iroquois to survive. It is pretty much an egalitarian society; even the leaders don’t really have power because they act according to their people. There are medicine men and spiritual leaders who are in charge of religious rituals and functions. Works Cited Olive Patricia Dickason. "The Great Law and the Longhouse: A Political History of the Iroquois Confederacy." The Journal of American History 86.1(1999):219-220.Starna,W.."Retrospecting the Origins of the League of the Iroquois."Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 152.3(2008):279-321.
Music Among the Iroquois Indians, music was not only a form of entertainment in their lives, but a vital part in helping maintain their heritage and cultural practices. Ceremonial dances occurred at anytime that was viewed as a vital time to have a social gathering too commemorate a certain event or experience. The music in all of the songs was stable both tonally and melodically and allowed for variation to fit the mood of each specific ceremony. Usually each ceremonial song consisted of six cycles that told a story. Each part of the song cycles were accompanied by regular eighth-note beats played on a water drum. The strong and weak beats alternated to create a rhythm that was easy for the Iroquois to dance to. (Kolinski 1972:432) In Iroquois music, consonants were used that match the English pronunciation and there were six vowel sounds used. To pronounce words, the Iroquois opened their lips to allow their teeth to show but kept their teeth tightly. Singing was done from the throat and nose which created a hollow and strained sound. (Cornelius 1987:268) For instruments, the Iroquois used water drums and shakers that were crafted from the hides of animals that were killed for their meat and dried up gourds and berries. (American 1994:36) There were hundreds of different types of ceremonial dances in the Iroquois culture. The buffalo dance was one of the largest performances, including both men and women. This dance included a shuffle step and was considered a sacred dance. The smoke dance was for men that congregated from different tribes and smoked the peace pipe to talk about the relationships between the tribes. Other important dances in the Iroquois culture were the raccoon, old time shuffle, war, stomp and pumpkin and squash dance. (Kolinski 1972:415-416) The most intricate of all ceremonial dances among the Iroquois was the funeral chant. The first part of the chant is in 2/4 time. Members of the tribe walk around in a circle greeting one another carrying a pebble-filled shell in one hand and two dry feathers in the other. The second part of the song, in 3/8 time, is a war chant that consists of English style dancing in which members of the deceased family wear blue or red war paint and chant the family song. (Cornelius 1987:267) Iroquois music demonstrated several core cultural beliefs of the Iroquois Indians. Their music was overall very simple with few objects needed to perform a song, if any. The Iroquois lived very simple lives and did not feel the need to have many material objects to live a happy and successful life. Throughout Iroquois music a theme of thankfulness is also found. The Iroquois always showed how thankful they were to receive the things they had, whether it was the meat from a raccoon or rain from the sky. Never did the Iroquois take for granted the gifts that they received. Giving was also an important cultural aspect of the Iroquois culture. In some of the ceremonial dances, the Iroquois would give one another an object to show that each tribe member was connected to another. Bibliography American Tribal Musics at Contact. Van Nuys, CA. Theodore Front Musical Literature, 1994. 1-56. Print. Cornelius, Richard. Ethnomusicology. Champaign, IL. University of Illinois Press, 1987. 261-272. Print. Kolinski, Mieczyslaw. Ethnomusicology. Champaign, IL. University of Illinois Press, 1972. 415-464.
Religion and Rituals
The Iroquois religion is centered around “The Great Spirit”. They believe this spirit is their creator. They speak a lot about animated seasons or things in nature. In one article I read it said they had two main prophets named Ayonwentah and Dekanawidah(Wolf 52). I have also read about a prophet that is referred to as “Handsome Lake”. They sometimes chose a spiritual leader called Tadodaho. This like the Christian pastor or Catholic priest. Two other spiritual beings that I continuously read about are known as Sky Woman and Hahgwehdiyu. The story says that the second character mentioned put a plant into his mother, his mother being Sky Woman, this plant was a gift to mankind. Sky Woman fell to the earth and died in childbirth. It was said that her body fertilized the earth so that her grandchildren could grow many things. Sky Woman had another son that represented evil named Hahgwehdaetgan.(Wolf 57).
All of the seasons have various personifications. The wind’s personification is known as Gaol. Jogah is the name for all of the nature spirits. Iosheka created the first people. He was a God that healed disease, defeated demons, and gave the Iroquois many of their religious and ceremonial rituals. One of the gifts he gave was tobacco, which the Iroquois used in almost all of their ceremonies.
Sosondowah was a great hunter who was captured by Dawn, a goddess who needed him as a watchman. He fell in love with Gendenwitha a human woman. He tried to woo her with a song. In spring, he sang as a bluebird, in summer as a blackbird and in autumn as a hawk, who then tried to take Gendenwitha with him to the sky. Dawn tied him to her doorpost. She changed Gendenwitha into the Morning Star, so the hunter could watch her all night but never be with her.
According to the prophecy, after seven generations of living in close contact with t he Europeans, the Onkwehonwe would see the day when the elm trees would die. The prophecy said that animals would be born strange and deformed. Huge stone monsters would tear open the face of the earth. The rivers would burn. The air would burn the eyes of man. According to the prophecy of the Seventh Generation the Onkwehonwe would see the day when birds would fall from the sky, the fish would die in the water, and man would grow ashamed of the way that he had t reated his mother and provider, the Earth (Snyderman 32).
Finally, according to this prophecy, after seven generations of living in close contact with the Europeans, the Onkwehonwe would rise up and demand that their rights and stewardship over the Earth be respected and restored.
According to the wisdom of this prophecy, men and women would one day turn to the Onkwehonwe, and particularly to the eastern door of the Confederacy, for both guidance and direction. It is up to the present generation of youth of the Kanien'kehake to provide leadership and example to all who have failed. The children of the Kanien'kehake are the seventh generation.
The Iroquois explained the sky by saying that a giant held it up. Basically, they have people or spirits for the reasons why the different things happen in the world. Their religious stories are past down from generation to generation. They are meant to teach lessons as well as explain things.
Caswell, Harriet S. Our Life among the Iroquois Indians. Lincoln: University of Nebraska, 2007. Print.
Snyderman, George Simon. The Function of Wampum in Iroquois Religion. S.l.: S.n., 1961. Print.
Wolf, Morris. Iroquois Religion and Its Relation to Their Morals. New York: Columbia UP, 1919. Print.
History
In the late 1500s the Iroquois were made of five tribes- The Mohawk, Onondaga, Seneca Nations, Oneida and the Cayuga were known as the Five Nations. They became establish in upstate New York before Europe came to America. They called themselves “Haudenosaunee” meaning people of longhouse, which refers to the constructions of their homes.
When the first explorers arrived in the early 17th century, they found an agricultural society of the Iroquois much different than the nomadic culture of Algonquians, their neighbors.When Europe was established in America, the Iroquois began to collect European trade goods through raids on other Indian tribes. They found many new tools to replace the weak tools they had. In 1609 the French allied with other Indian tribes attacking the Iroquois. While the French had the proper tools to fight: armor, firearms. The Iroquois on the other hand did not. With European influence they gradually changed their military tactics to better their surprise, stealth and ambush. Instead of fighting for revenge, or to collect more traded goods, they fought for beaver hunting grounds. In the 1609’s because of the European they had lost a lot of people through small wars and diseases. They had lost up to 2,000 people.
In 1722 the Tuscarora joined the Iroquois nations, and now making it the Six Nations. The first half of the 18th century was a time for rebuilding. The Iroquois and the French had made peace and has established themselves in a neutral position between the French and the English, until 1754 when the French and Indian War had broken out. The Iroquois tribes had split up some going with the French and the other with the English. It was not long after when the American Revolutionary War had broken out. During the war the Iroquois tribes dealt with death and devastation. They lost their towns and crops and were forced out of their homelands. In the 19th century the Six Nations had remained strong in their social, religious and political ways. In the 1799 the development of the New Religion helped establish traditional culture and help the transition to reservation life.
In the 1950’s the Mohawk, Seneca, and Tuscarora became involved in major land disputes that helped strengthen Iroquois solidarity. During these times of the Iroquois, they had to adapt to a changing world. In 1798, a Quaker worked with one of the tribes teaching them how to read and write. They introduced new farming methods, and that men should be the ones to work in the field. In the 19th century, they were also taught that private ownership in land was important, that they could trade or sell their land for good. The Iroquois are strong believers in their traditional way of life. In their reservations they are still speaking their own language and still do their own traditional ceremonies. Over 50,000 Iroquois are living in the United States today in reservations.
Bibliography: SWANTON, J. R. (1938), JOHN NAPOLEON BRINTON HEWITT. American Anthropologist, 40: 286–290.
Iroquois History: www.tolatsga.org/iro.html
William Engelbrecht.Iroquia: The development of a Native World:New York, 2003 print.
Iroquois World Simulation Summary
Up until 1450 the Iroquois of the North Americas lived by farming and hunting. Starvation and hunger were all but unheard of, and they worked together to insure each others success. They had relatively peaceful relations with their distant neighbors, the Inuit, the Aztecs and the Incas, and traded frequently with them for the needs of their own tribes. The first European relations was a sudden and brutal, bloody war which the Iroquois repelled. This victory was short lived, however as the English returned later better prepared and took control of Iroquois lands. The impression the English left on the Iroquois was one of a loud, boisterous and demanding people who cared nothing except for the cotton, which they forced the Iroquois to grow in great amounts.
By the mid sixteenth century, the news of other English exploits in the America's had become the central focus of Iroquois society. Women continued to control the distribution of wealth through the Iroquois tribes, however many of them had new duties of growing and harvesting English cotton to meet England's demands. Iroquois women were excellent negotiators and continued to play key roles in trading with nearby alliances for not only resources, but seeking opportunities to expel the English from all of the America's. These Iroquois negotiators rapidly expanded into the globalizing markets, trading with visitors to the Americas as far away as Mongolia and Japan.
While disease ravaged the America's, the Iroquois population had already been thinned by previous conflict with the English. European diseases tore through both continents, however the fewer numbers of the Iroquois made halting contagious deadly diseases much easier, and Iroquois losses to disease were very low compared to their neighbors.
During this time a significant shift had occurred in Iroquois life. Men became increasingly involved in warfare across the Americas against the English occupiers, who had also taken over the Inuit and the Incas. The first repulsion of English forces in the Americas came about as a negotiation with the Spanish allies of the Aztecs. In this the Iroquois traded the national symbol, Bear Totem in exchange for a Spanish attack on their English occupiers. The Spanish pushed out the English successfully, granting the Iroquois a short freedom in which to trade more freely with other nations. Both men and women of the Iroquois spread news of their new freedom. As the Iroquois gave up their national identity, their guiding principles had been transformed away from being Iroquois to being fighters for freedom from oppression. By the mid seventeenth century when the English reconquered North American lands, the people had changed.
Through two centuries of struggle with English occupation Iroquois society had changed significantly. Most activities in Iroquois society centered around pushing the English out of their lands. The second defeat of the English delivered by Spanish forces the century before gave the people more freedom to travel to other lands also under English rule. A transformation had occurred among the them, and the idea of freedom of oppression for all people became their central core value. Women no longer simply controlled resources of the tribe, they were the means by which the Iroquois could obtain military power. Through constant contact and communication with the rest of the Americas they also brought vital news about world events home.
To the Iroquois, English rule through the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries had become more of a galvanizing force for the new Iroquois ideals than oppression. Men held constant war councils with their allies, relying on information and resources women had gathered. The closest "War Ally" of the of this time were the Incas. Initial plans were to assist the Incas in overthrowing the English and then to free themselves and the Inuit, however English power was too heavily concentrated in Inca lands. The Iroquois instead took the opportunity to free themselves, and the English were pushed out for good. Iroquois warriors joined the Inca, pushing out the bastion of English rule in the Americas. Afterward both tribes turned far north to their Inuit neighbors, pushing the last English colonizers from the Americas forever. All three campaigns relied heavily on the past work of Iroquois women who still managed resources of the tribe, knew who to speak to with the other tribes and what resources they had. Men exchanged military intelligence through war council however, often speaking with warriors from other occupied lands who knew the strengths of the forces that occupied them.
While the Americas celebrated freedom from occupation, they remained the separate nations they were before. People from other lands occupied by either English or Chinese forces visited often, asking for Iroquois assistance with their own oppressors. This victory would be short lived however. During the English occupation the Iroquois had been forced to grow cotton for three centuries. Ecological disasters the century before, clear cutting of forests for the planting of cotton and over-farmed soil all worked against the Iroquois who faced a new danger that they could not defeat with military might. As the danger of starvation loomed, however, they did not see the dangers coming. Returning to the old ways they'd fiercely protected throughout English Occupation, the land could no longer support them in the way that it once had. Distracted by plans for distant campaigns in Japan and Mongolia this did not become evident to the Iroquois in time to save them. By the Mid Nineteenth century, they had been scattered throughout the world, driven out by starvation, and their way of life had ended.
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