Iroquois+Tribes

Introduction - (OSL - Mitchell)
Iroquois means real snakes. Mohawk, Seneca, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Tuscarora are their languages. Mohawk, Seneca, Oneida, Onondaga, and Cayuga are the tribes in it also. Later, a sixth nation joined, the Tuscora. Sometimes, however, the Huron and the Cherokee are called “Iroquoian” because they are distant relatives of the Iroquois Confederacy and speak related languages. Most Iroquois Indians lived in New York. The Iroquois are fierce warriors and fought with most countries including Wabanaki, Algonquin, and Ojibway tribes. Most Iroquois speak English but some, especially elders, speak their original language. There are a lot of traditional Iroquois legends and fairy tales.

[[image:http://www.ryecityschools.lhric.org/webquest/milton/indians/Iroquois/Iroqu4.jpg width="218" height="156" align="left" caption=" An Iroquois home called the longhouse."]]
The longhouse is a large wooden structure covered in sticks and branches. A whole family tree would live in a longhouse. They also lived in wigwams which were small huts made of bent sticks. The Iroquois lived in what is now New York state along the St.Lawrence river. Two or more houses consisted in a village and 30 to 60 people could live in one longhouse. They also built homes on tops of hills for protection from enemies. They used animal skins as doors. Such as buffalo skins, they used every part of the buffalo like the horns for knives and the organs to carry water and fur for clothes.

Dress - (SLL-TroyZ)
The Iroquois indians used various materials for their clothing. Sometimes they used tree fibers and sometimes even corn husks but they mostly used animal hides like that from a deer or an elk. The men wore breechcloth with long legging and instead of headdresses they wore gustoweh a feathered hat. In the cold harsh winter they wore heavy robes and moccasins and women often wore fancy beadwork. Women only cut their hair when in mourning. They also decorated clothes with porcupine quills, shell beads, and dyed hair and animal teeth for necklaces.

Food -(SLL-TonyT)
**What They Eat** They were both farmers and hunters. Their main crop was corn, beans, and squash. They also ate deer rabbit and lots of fish. They had corn, green corn, strawberry, and harvesting festivals. They were held to give thanks to spirits to get food. Men were in charge of hunting. Women were in charge of farming.

Customs - (SLL-TonyT)
The Iroquois had religious ceremonies to please their gods.  Check out this [|website] for more information on Iroquois myths.

Tool and Weapons - (OSL-Mitchell)
The Iroquois Indian Tribes had many unique tools and weapons. One of their tools and weapons, were axes from 5-8 feet long made of polished stone! Another weapon was the bow and arrow. Did you know that the arrowheads were made of chart (what we call flint?) Other tools and weapons include spears; war clubs; long, wide bones for shovels; stone adzes (handheld axes); flint knives; and shields.The Iroquois Indians had digging sticks too, made from sharpened wooden poles. They were used to loosen dirt where longhouses go. For traveling, they used elmbark canoes.