Native American Project

Iroquois Indians
The Iroquois Tribe
 We chose this tribe because they
sounded interesting.
 We wanted to learn about them and
what their culture was like and how
they lived.
 Food
 The Iroquois were farmers, hunters, and fishers. They Planted
many things such as corn, beans, and squash. They also
harvested things like wild berries and herbs.
 Most of their dishes consisted of soups, stews and cornbread.
 Their meals were cooked in stone hearths.↓

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 Food
 Common sources of protein
were deer, fish, rabbit, caribou,
and moose.
Food
 Agriculture was important
to the Iroquois tribes
 They held six annual
festivals with prayers to QuickTimeª and a
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express gratitude for their

bountiful harvests.
 It was common for the the
Iroquois women to tend
the fields while the
Iroquois men would take
care of all the hunting QuickTimeª and a
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 During the winter men
would often go out on long
hunting expeditions.
Types Of Shelter
• They lived in large homes
called long houses. QuickTimeª and a
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• They were large wooden
framed buildings covered
with sheets of tree bark.
• It was standard to find an
entire clan (which usually
consisted of sixty people)
living in one long home.
• They shared resources, fire
and other commodities.
Location
 The Iroquois lived
in upstate New
York between the
Adirondack
Mountains and
Niagara Falls.
Tools
• To hunt the Iroquois
men used the usual
bow and arrows.

• To fish they used

fishing spears.→

• They used wooden

hoes for farming
Tools continued
• For fighting they
used clubs and
stone adzes which
were small hand
axes.

• Another common
tool was a sharp
flint knife that was
used to skin
animals.
Clothing
 The woman wore wrap
around long leggings. As
well as tunics that were
similar to an over dress.
 Heavy animal fur robes QuickTimeª and a
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were worn by all during

the cold winter months.
 Moccasins were used for
shoes.
 However they were not
always worn around camp.
Deerskin had a tendency to QuickTimeª and a
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wear out quickly so “shoes”
were saved for long travel, QuickTimeª and a
or hunts. decompressor
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Clothing
 Daily attire consisted of
feathers in their hair,
and a loin cloth
 Jewelry was usually
worn, a common feature
was the nose ring.
 While hunting it was QuickTimeª and a
common for a man to decompressor
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wear leggings to protect
from poisin ivy, throns,
and other things.
 For more formal
occasions kilts, similar
to skirts, were worn by
Iroquoian men.
Beliefs
The Iroquois believed in many myths.
 A common myth was their god known as
The Great Spirit or "Ha-wen-ne-yu."
 This God had a brother known as
“Ha-ne-go-ate-geh", or "the Evil-minded”.
 Dreams were always considered to be
supernatural messages. If you dreamt at
night you were obligated to help the
dreamer by fulfilling the needs or desires
expressed in the dream
Beliefs
 They would do most of their celebrations in the
winter and they were held to give thanks to nature.
 In some ceremonies they would dress as birds,
other animals and monsters to entertain the crow.
 Drums, rattles and other instruments were used for
music.
 They used special paintings used to mark special
celebrations and traditions.
Lifestyle
The lifestyle of the Iroquois’ was filled with six annual festivals.

 The Mid-Winter Festival, began the new year, it lasted five

days.
 It was held in late January or early February when the men
returned from the fall hunt.
 It was then followed by another two or three days of game
playing.
 Playing a traditional dice game to honor the struggle
between the Creator and his evil twin brother for control
over the earth. Thanks were offered to the Creator for
protection during the past year.
Lifestyles
• Other commons festivals were:
The Mid-Winter Festival
Thanks-to-the-Maple Festival
Corn Planting Ceremony
Strawberry Festival
Green Corn Festival
and many others….
• Masks (“false faces”) were commonly used as a
major part of the Iroquois rituals. These masks
symbolized spirit forces that were represented by
the person wearing the mask at festivals or
healing ceremonies.
• Masks were carved from living trees, or made from braided
corn husks.
Climate
 During the summer
it was really warm
where they were at.
 The springs were
warm and the fall
was cool.
 Winter was cold.
Traditions
 One of their great
traditions that is
also a great sport
today was
Lacrosse.
Transportation
 The Iroquois preferred to travel by
land using canoes only to fish.
 In the winter snow shoes were
commonly used.
 Before the horse they used dogs as
pack animals.
Art
 The Iroquois woman made beautiful
art work. They made porcupine quill
work, beaded jewelry, and mask work.
Clothing
Interesting Facts
 The Iroquios Indians nickamed George
Washington as Town Destroyer...
translated as Town Taker, Burner of
Towns, or Devourer of Villages.
 The Iroquois Indians were willing to adopt
other tribes into their fold, by allowing new
members this enabled them to steadily
grow in numbers and in political power.
The End of the World
 Iroquois prophet Handsome Lake told of the end of world in
the 1700s. He saw Four Beings, like four angels, coming
from the Four Directions. They told him what would happen,
how there would be diseases we'd never heard of before.
"You will see many tears in this country. Then a great wind
will come, a wind that will make a hurricane seem like a
whisper. It will cleanse the earth and return it to its original
state. That will be the punishment for what we've done to the
Creation."
 http://www.ancientprophet.com

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