The Iroquois Confederacy
(Also Known as the Haudernosaunee)
By: Alex McDonald
What was the Iroquois Confederacy?
It was a "group" of 5 (later 6) that were at war for years until the great peacemaker his name was daganaweeduh came along to bring them together and form the Iroquois Confederacy.
The social structure
The social stucture was highly valued as it affected the way decisions were made.
- It allowed everyone to participate
- There was a very unique hierarchy
Another important detail of the structure was the nations system where there was five nations;Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida and the Mohawk. Each of these nations had an important role In the use of consensus.
The Clan System
there was 9 clans;
the wolf, the bear, turtle, snipe, deer,
beaver, heron, hawk
and eels
How the Iroquois Confederacy Made decisions.
They Made their decisions by Consensus. There was a very complicated system behind the their consensus. I have illustrated what it would look like in this diagram;
The role of women
Women were very important and the most respected in each clan thre was a mulititude of clan mothers in each clan. They were the oldest and the most respected women in each clan. They were also the ones that chose the hoyaneh and if they didn't meet her expectations she could "fire" them on the spot and pick a new one.
The role of regular women was to go to the men and womens council and then bring their ideas to the clan mother who then brings it to the grand council and then gives it to the hoyaneh
The impoortance of wampum belts
What were wampum belts?
they were made out of wampum shells
wampum belts were historical records that always suggested importance, seriousness and sincerity. They were always used as a symbol of peace treaty and when very important agreements were made.
The Hiawatha wampum belt was the most common belt as it represented each nation in thjeir geographical order shown below:
Wampum belts continued;
there is another common type of wampum belt called the two row wampum belt it was made when the "White Men" made a treaty saying they wouldn't bother them this is what it looked like:
The Longhouse
the longhouse was where the clans of the same nation lived.
Q:how did a family get to live in a particular longhouse?
A:the system where a family got to live in a certain longhouse was through a matrilineal system.
Q:What was matrilineal?
A:MAtrilineal was a word that meant all of the family history was traced through the mothers side. Like I mentioned earlier when a family gets married the live in the mothers longhouse the same can be said for clans. Also when they get married instead of the mother getting the fathers last name the family gets the mothers last name.
The Grand Council
The grand council was where the clan mothers brought the ideas the men and women came up with at their council to the hoyaneh of each clan that then went through the consensus process to get the final product
More Social Structure
children
Men and Women Councils
Clan Mothers
Hoyaneh
Grand Council
That is the end of my presentation I hope you learned a lot about the Iroquois Confederacy
Thanks 8)
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