The Iroquois, also known as the Iroquois League was originally comprised of five nations including the Mohawk, Seneca, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Oneida nations (Richter 1983). As a whole they originated in the Hamilton-Niagara region of southwestern Ontario and adjacent New York (Noble 1984), however, they did not start of as a League. This paper will explore the borders of the Iroquois territoriality including the range they covered and their home area, as well as how the territory is utilized to make a living and also how it is defended.
As stated before the Iroquois League habituated the Hamilton-Niagara region of the southwest Ontario and adjacent New York (Noble 1984). These areas are known for having many lakes, rivers, thick and plentiful forests, ample rainfall, and soil rich enough to harvest. These were known as the Eastern Woodlands and are direct neighbors to the subarctic north and the plains culture to the left. The Iroquois League used the several natural landmarks around them to establish territory between the tribes. Horticulture, the art or practice of garden cultivation and management, was their main source of subsistence, so much so that they used words whose meaning is “our life” or “it sustains us,” in naming their food such as maize (Parker 1988). Politically, the Iroquois League established a constitution known as the Great Binding Law. Passed down orally for many generations, it wasn’t until recently that the Iroquois attempted to transfer their constitution into written form (Parker 1988). For many generations they also used wampum belts and strings to recall laws and regulation, but they kept getting destroyed or lost and in fear of the total destruction of their ancient archives, the Iroquois League selec...
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...en the colonies won the revolution, the Iroquois were forced to move territory and settle on areas called reservations, which were allotted by the colonies.
More recently, the Iroquois are still present but scattered about and not as prominent as they used to be. As of 1990 there are only 50,000 within the United States. Their religion has made a move from mostly spiritual to of the Christian faith, thanks to influence from the Quakers. In conclusion, the Iroquois League is a historic horticultural group that has left their mark well in history. They were a group of matriarchal natives whose tribes centered on peace and tranquility, however, we must not forget their killer instincts when it came to keeping prisoners at war; this was a unique quality of the tribes. The Iroquois League’s downfall was unfavorable, but fortunately they are still alive and well today.
...y robbing the Indians of their land, the English upset and hurt many of the Native American tribes, which lead to many disputes over ownership of the land.
The Constitutions of both the Iroquois and the United States have similarities and differences between them. The Iroquois constitution came earlier in history than the U.S one did. Some of the same ideas that were in the Iroquois’ constitution were carried over to some of the ideas that we use in our government today. In this paper I will compare and contrast these ideas as they relate with one another. Ideas like Vito Power, When a Leader Gets Sick, 3 Branches of Government, A Bicameral Legislature, and impeachment are portrayed in both of these constitutions.
Dr. Daniel K. Richter is the Roy F. and Jeannette P. Nichols Professor of American History at University of Pennsylvania. His focus on early Native American history has led to his writing several lauded books including Before the Revolution: America’s Ancient Past, and The Ordeal of the Longhouse: The Peoples of the Iroquois League in the Era of European Colonization. Richter’s Facing East is perhaps, a culmination of his latter work. It is centered from a Native American perspective, an angle less thought about in general. Through the book, Richter takes this perspective into several different fields of study which includes literary analysis, environmental history, and anthropology. Combining different methodologies, Richter argues Americans can have a fruitful future, by understanding the importance of the American Indian perspective in America’s short history.
When the Europeans first migrated to America, they didn’t know much about the ancestral background of the different types of the Indian tribes that were settled in Virginia and along the East Coast. Many of the Indian tribes became hostile towards the colonist because the colonists were interfering with their way of life. This lead the natives to attempt to destroy the frontier settlements. Many forts in this area were erected to protect the settlers and their families. One the historical land...
The land of the Native Indians had been encroached upon by American settlers. By the
Back in 1830, Congress passed the Indian Removal Act. This act required the government to negotiate treaties that would require the Native Americans to move to the west from their homelands. Native Americans would be moved to an area called the Indian Territory which is Oklahoma and parts of Kansas and Nebraska. Some tribes that were to be moved are Cherokee, Creek, Seminole, Choctaw, and Chickasaw. All of the other tribes had relocated in the fall of 1831 to the Indian Territory besides the Cherokee who did not relocate until the fall of 1838. They did not move from their homeland without a fight. Their homeland was parts of Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, and North Carolina. They started this march in the fall of 1838 and finished in early
Unfortunately, this great relationship that was built between the natives and the colonists of mutual respect and gain was coming to a screeching halt. In the start of the 1830s, the United States government began to realize it’s newfound strength and stability. It was decided that the nation had new and growing needs and aspirations, one of these being the idea of “Manifest Destiny”. Its continuous growth in population began to require much more resources and ultimately, land. The government started off as simply bargaining and persuading the Indian tribes to push west from their homeland. The Indians began to disagree and peacefully object and fight back. The United States government then felt they had no other option but to use force. In Indian Removal Act was signed by Andrew Jackson on May 18, 1830. This ultimately resulted in the relocation of the Eastern tribes out west, even as far as to the edge of the Great Plains. A copy of this act is laid out for you in the book, Th...
Have you ever heard of the Powhatan tribe? If not let me share a little fact about them. Powhatan means “waterfall” in the Virginia Algonquian language. The Powhatans didn't live in tepees. They lived in small roundhouses called wigwams, or in larger Iroquois-style longhouses. Another fact is Powhatan warriors used tomahawks or wooden war clubs. They also carried shields. Powhatan hunters used bows and arrows. If you would like to learn more about the Powhatan tribe please continue reading this paper. You will learn all about the Powhatan and how they lived. Enjoy.
First, the American government made reservations to separate American settlers and Native Americans in an effort to acquire more land from the Indians and hopefully try to stop conflict. Unfortunately for the Native Americans by the late 1800’s settlers were
The Algonquians on the other hand had tried to take over the Iroquoian territory. The Iroquois had fought and won a battle with the Algonquians for the territory they had lost for 20 years. Other than these two main groups, the Iroquois people were well rounded. All of the many families in a clan, many clans in a tribe, and many tribes make what is known as the one Iroquois Confederacy. Some of the famous people who were a big part of the Iroquoian culture were Deganawida and Hiawatha. Deganawida along with Hiawatha were the two founders of the Iroquoian Confederacy. They both organized a few of the Native American tribes and made it into a political and cultural confederacy. Another famous Iroquoian person is Dina A. John, who was a resident of the Onondaga tribe and survived the Van Shaik Expedition. She had also served in the War of 1812 and became an artist and entrepreneur in New York. These famous people are representing for what the Iroquois Confederacy has become. Contrary to what many historians believed, based on the narratives of this essay one would unequivocally conclude that indeed Native-Americans were never impoverish nor culturally
As the West of the Appalachian Mountains became known as the “Indian Land” proclaimed by the King of England in 1763, as properly known as the Proclamation Line of 1763, the U. S. government believed it to be part of their land after their gain of independence from Britain. The reason for this happening was due to the fact that the Indians lost to the French in the French and Indian war which was also known as the brutal Seven Years’ War from 1754-1763. As a result, The U.S. took advantage of the situation and insisted on acquiring the land of the Indians in the West through three different policies (Chris ...
They were warlike and went out on expeditions to places in New Brunswick, Massachusetts, parts of Maine, and the north shore of Lake Huron. Excursions have been documented all the way to Ohio-Mississippi valley. “’The character of all these [Iroquois] Nations is warlike and cruel,’ wrote Jesuit missionary Paul Le Jeune in 1657.” (Richter, 528) They had different purposes for war than Europeans did. Thus, since the Europeans did not understand the similarities and differences, they were called savage. The Iroquois did not wage war all the time though. The Hudson Bay Company and the Northwestern Fur Company employed Iroquois as canoe men; they were also employed by private enterprises connected with the fur trade or exploration. The Iroquois employed by the Hudson Bay Company “are reputed to have been the most expert in the country, and many stories are told of their skill and spirit of adventure.” (Chamberlain, 460) They also hunted beaver for corporations, sometimes with their families with them. Iroquois were employed as “canoe men, guides, carriers, and voyagers in the service of the Hudson Bay Company.” (Chamberlain, 460) Some of the Iroquois went as far as the Rocky Mountains, where they stayed and brought their culture with them. As time passed though, they mixed cultures until one could hardly tell they were part Iroquois. They did bring dug-outs, the crossbow, and teaching of the Jesuit fathers to
Natives were forcefully removed from their land in the 1800’s by America. In the 1820’s and 30’s Georgia issued a campaign to remove the Cherokees from their land. The Cherokee Indians were one of the largest tribes in America at the time. Originally the Cherokee’s were settled near the great lakes, but overtime they moved to the eastern portion of North America. After being threatened by American expansion, Cherokee leaders re-organized their government and adopted a constitution written by a convention, led by Chief John Ross (Cherokee Removal). In 1828 gold was discovered in their land. This made the Cherokee’s land even more desirable. During the spring and winter of 1838- 1839, 20,000 Cherokees were removed and began their journey to Oklahoma. Even if natives wished to assimilate into America, by law they were neither citizens nor could they hold property in the state they were in. Principal Chief, John Ross and Major Ridge were leaders of the Cherokee Nation. The Eastern band of Cherokee Indians lost many due to smallpox. It was a year later that a Treaty was signed for cession of Cherokee land in Texas. A small number of Cherokee Indians assimilated into Florida, in o...
Sandefur, G. (n.d.). American Indian reservations: The first underclass areas? Retrieved April 28, 2014, from http://www.irp.wisc.edu/publications/focus/pdfs/foc121f.pdf
The Cherokee Nation was the largest of Five Civilized Tribes of the southeast. They are a people of Iroquois descent. The Cherokee who were known as "Ani'-Yun'wiya" or "principal people" migrated to the southeast from the Great Lakes region. They held more than 40,000 square miles of land in the south by 1650 with a population estimated at well over 30,000. Similar to other Native Americans of the southeast, their nation was a confederacy of towns each under the rule of a supreme chief. In short, the Cherokee culture and society thrived and prospered in the Americas prior to contact with the Europeans. No society has ever made a more dramatic cultural shift then that of the Cherokee. This, a culture that had suffered pronounced side effects of Europe even prior to the introduction to European man. With the introduction of man onto the Americas also came something unknown to them, disease. Unable to counter these viruses many of the Cherokee were wiped out. Reports state that between 40 and 50% of their culture died from diseases such as: smallpox, typhus, and measles. With the sudden lose of population, there is no doubt that this population also lost leadership and knowledge through these deaths. Once the obstacle of disease had been passed came the addition of a new opponent: the European man.