Iroquois Nation
Diet and Agriculture
The Iroquois men hunted deer and other game. Boys were allowed to join the men in hunting after they had killed a deer by themselves. Farming determined the way the Iroquois lived. They moved to new locations when their large fields no longer produced a good crop of beans, corn, and squash, which they called “The Three Sisters.” The women tended the crops. One favorite food of the Iroquois was corncakes, which are made by patting corn into round cakes and baking them.
Cultural Practices
Confederacy
The Confederacy comprised six groups: Cayuga, Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Seneca, and Tuscarora. They called themselves Iroquois. They were big rivals with the Algonquian-speaking tribes. European settlers called this group the League of Six Nations.
Festivals
The Iroquois held six big festivals each year, each lasting several days. During these festivals, music was made by shaking rattles and beating drums. Rattles were made from gourds and turtle shells. The festivals included the New Year Festival in the winter, the Maple Festival in the spring, the Corn Planting Festival, the Strawberry Festival, the Green Corn Festival, and the Harvest Festival of Thanksgiving. These festivals were held to give thanks to the good spirits for health, clothes, food, and happiness.
Iroquois Mask - Student Art Project
Women in the Iroquois Society
Women held a powerful position in the Iroquois tribe. They owned longhouses, controlled the land, and chose the chief. Children belonged to their mother’s clan. When a man married, he lived with his wife’s clan.
False Face Society Masks
An injured or ill Iroquois person would sometimes ask the False Face Society to drive away the spirit of the illness or injury. The False Face Society wore masks carved from wood. After a new member joined, they had to make their own mask.
To make the mask, the Iroquois would walk through the woods until they found a tree whose spirit spoke to them. After talking to the tree, they built a fire, sprinkled tobacco, and stripped bark. Next, they outlined a face and cut out the section of the tree they had outlined. Then, the Iroquois went into a secluded shelter to carve the mask. The mask was polished and decorated with hair, feathers, and other materials.
Sacred Bowl Game - Student Project
Bowl Game
The Iroquois played the Sacred Bowl Game during the last day of the “Ceremonial of Midwinter,” which marked the end of the year. The wooden bowl was decorated with four clan symbols: the bear, wolf, turtle, and deer. To play the game, a player placed six nuts, colored on one side, inside the bowl and hit the bowl against the ground. If five of the six nuts turned up the same color, the player scored and took another turn. The first player to reach 10 points won the game.
Tools, Weapons, and Utensils
The men made canoes, houses, and tools. Snowshoes made winter hunting easier for the Iroquois, allowing them to travel up to 50 miles daily in deep snow. The Iroquois also wore snowshoes in ritual dances.
Art and Craftsmanship
Sometimes, the Iroquois wore corn husk masks or painted their faces to frighten away evil spirits. The False Face Society was a group of medicine men who wore frightening wood masks. When they put on their masks, they were thought to possess special powers.