The Iroquois Confederacy is a confederation of Native Americans consisting of six groups: the Cayuga, Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Seneca, and Tuscarora. Each of these groups classifies itself as a nation, and refer to the Confederacy as Haudenosaunee. The Iroquois Confederacy stretches across its historical territory, which includes the northeastern United States and portions of southern Canada. It is known for its representative and hierarchical system of government that developed without any European influence.
Tribes In The Iroquois Confederacy
- Tuscaroras: The Six Nations of the Iroquois
Iroquois Confederacy Society
Iroquois Confederacy Timeline
1645: Mohawks and Dutch sign treaty known as Two Row Wampum Treaty
1667: French make peace with Mohawks
1712: Tuscarora's of North Carolina become members of the Iroquois Confederacy
1724: Tuscarora's join Iroquois Confederacy
1744-48: The Covenant Chain weakened during the series of wars between the French and English.
1750's: Benjamin Franklin was inspired by the Iroquois League and copied it in his plans for the federation of States.
1754: The French and Indian War began and lasted seven years.
1777: British Col. John Butler first tried without success to get the Six Nations to side with the English
1778. For Sagoyewatha services as a runner, the English gave him a red jacket Red Jacket.
1779: In retaliation for atrocities by the "Redskin-Redcoat menace," Commander George Washington sent 4,000 soldiers to destroy the heart of the Seneca Nation
1779-80 Indian Nation refugees who were totally dependent on the British for food, clothing and supplies, spent the winter in squalid camps near the Fort at Niagara.
1780: The largest portion of Indian Nation refugees who built homes along Buffalo Creek were displaced Seneca, Cayugas, Onondagas and Munsees.
1784: The Onondagas and the Oneidas ceded their lands to New York State.at a first treaty at Fort Stanwix (near Rome, N.Y.)
1785: Population of Six Nations is 1600 Iroquois, 450 Mohawks, 380 Cayugas, 200 Onondagas,165 Oneidas, 125 Tuscaroras, 75 Senecas
1789: Jan 9:Treaty with the Six Nations,at Treaty of Fort Harmar
1977: New York State Museum publishes "IONTENWENNAWEIENSTAHKHWA" - a Mohawk dictionary
1990: July 11th: Oka Crisis Begins, 78 day standoff between Police and Army
References
Fast Facts
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Total population
approximately 125,000
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Occupied countries
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Fact:
The name Iroquois means "rattlesnakes"
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Fact:
The Iroquois Indians held six big festivals each year. Each festival lasted several days
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Fact:
Women held a powerful position in the Iroquois tribe. They owned longhouses, controlled the land, and chose the chief
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Fact:
The False Face Society was a group of medicine men who wore frightening masks made of wood
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Fact:
Hiawatha is credited as the founder of the Iroquois confederacy
