Native Americans:
The Northeast
Native Americans:The Northeast |
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The Iroquois are one of the major groups of Native Americans who lived in the Northeast. They are famous for their confederation. The confederation is made up of five tribes. The tribes are: Mohawk, Seneca, Oneida, Cayuga, Onandaga. Before all the tribes formed the confederation, there were blood feuds between the five tribes. There was a myth about how Hiawatha formed the confederation. Hiawatha went to the forest to keep away from the blood feuds. He saw a spirit that said these words, "We bind ourselves together by taking hold of each other's hands so firmly and forming a circle so strong that if a tree should fall upon it, it could not shake nor break it." And you know what he did? He stopped the blood feuds and formed the confederation. The confederation formed on the Iroquois nation.
The Iroquois lived in houses called long houses. They were called long houses because they were very long. Long houses were up to 100 feet long. Long houses held up to 4 or 5 families. A long house is made by tying long poles together to make the structure. Next they covered it with bark. They slept on branches that were fastened to the sides. Shelves were made by fastening long boards on to the upper sides. Four or five families would live in one house. When a couple got married, they moved in with the woman's family.
The Iroquois' meal was usually deer or bear meat. They also hunted small animals and ate them. They never wasted food. Corn, squash, and beans were very important to them. They called them the three sisters. They grew food in gardens. They also ate ducks, goose, wild turkeys, rabbits, and fish. Each family was responsible for their own food, but whenever the food supply was low, another family would share their food. Cooperation and sharing were very important to the Iroquois.
Women had a strong role in the village. When a man and woman got married they went to live with the woman' s family The women would farm crops and gather nuts, berries, and sunflowers. The women would also grow tobacco. The women also cooked the food. The women with babies would carry their babies on their backs while working.
Men would clear out the field and made tools out of trees. Men protected the village, and hunted alone or with groups. They would sneak up on their prey and shoot them with a spear. Boys would play games that would teach them how to hunt. The men and boys would fish together. The boys would also trap and kill small animals in traps. The men would use stone and wood to make bows and arrows. They used bones of animals to make knives and utensils. They ate the deer they killed, and used the hide or buckskin for clothing.
The False Face Society was used to treat diseases. The Iroquois thought that evil spirits could cause disease. The masks that men wear were supposed to scare the evil spirits away. To make the make the mask the man would go into the woods alone until he found a tree (usually a basswood) whose spirit would call him. Next he would talk to the tree and then built a fire. After that he would sprinkle tobacco on it and use it as a offering to the tree with his spirit. Then he stripped some bark off the tree and carved a face in the tree. The picture would look like the tree spirit he had seen. Finally he cut out the section of the face on the tree. Sometimes he would add an animal tail to the mask. Only men carried and wore the masks. One old woman was allowed to take care of the masks. The men would chant, dance, and sing. Hopefully the evil spirits would leave in the wounded man's/women's dreams.