Iroquois History and Legends

The Five Nations of the Iroquois were locked in centuries of war, revenge killings, hate and cannibalism. Then a mysterious Huron man appeared on a quest to unite the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga and Seneca peoples together under the Great Law of Peace.  This would become the Iroquois Confederacy.  A Native American government with equal rights and a representative government that left Europeans in bewilderment. These are the h...

We explore the mechanics of the Iroquois Councils.  A system of protocols, title offices and a separation of powers that has been followed for centuries.  

Sources- Iroquoia: The Development of a Native World (The Iroquois and Their Neighbors)  2005 by William Engelbrecht

GAYANASHAGOWA (Great Law of Peace) - Haudenosaunee Constitution attributed to Dekanawidah the Peacemaker

Hosted on A...

The Six Nations are further broken down into clans.  Clans are represented by certain animals.  The purpose is not to divide a nation but in fact to bring about unity and help in times of mourning.  Join us as we learn how clans were a benefit to everyone in Iroquoia.

Sources-

How the Clans were Chosen - Oneida Nation Oral History

Iroquoia: The Development of a Native World: Iroquois & Their Neighbors by William Engelbrecht and Cal...

The Three Sisters are Corn, Beans and Squash.  Not only are they well balanced varieties of vegetables they also work together in symbiosis.  We discuss agriculture, food gathering and storage. 

Sources-

Iroquois Uses of Maize and Other Food Plants by Arthur C. Parker

Iroquoia: The Development of a Native World: Iroquois & Their Neighbors by William Engelbrecht & Caleb Rector

Skywoman: Legends of the Iroquois by Joanne Shenandoah

Pastimes that people do on the weekends was a way of life for the people of the Eastern Woodlands.  Learn about the animals that were vital to the way of life in all Iroquoia.

Today we will talk about deer drives, fishing, beaver trapping and .... bear raising?

Sources-

Voyages de la Nouvelle France by Samuel de Champlain

Iroquoia: The Development of a Native World: Iroquois & Their Neighbors by William Engelbrecht and Caleb Rector

The Six Nations were not alone on the continent. There were many other nationalities that inhabited the north eastern woodlands. This week we will talk about where the Huron, Erie, Neutrals, Susquehannock, Mahican, Delaware and other nations lived at the time of first contact with the Europeans.  

Sources-

Iroquoia: The Development of a Native World by William Engelbrecht and Caleb Rector

IROQUOIS DIPLOMACY ON THE EARLY AMERICAN FR...

At the end of the 15th Century the  Age of Discovery and Exploration was just beginning. In 1534 Jacques Cartier made contact  with  the  Iroquoian peoples of the St. Lawrence River valley. It was all downhill from there.  In fact  things will  never be the same. Old World pathogens  will soon destroy anyone's way of life who happens to call the Americas home.

Sources-

Iroquoia: The Development of a Native World: Iroquois & Their N...

Warfare was a way of life for everyone living in Northeastern America since before there was memory or record.  Today we talk about how warfare was conducted pre-European contact.  Also with the waves of epidemics destroying native populations the Iroquois Nations stepped up raids into neighboring regions looking for captives to assimilate into their communities.

Sources:

IROQUOIA: THE DEVELOPMENT OF A NATIVE WORLD BY WILLIAM ENGEL...

In 1609 a Mohawk war party is utterly routed.  The reason? Guns.  Samuel de Champlain the Father of New France accompanied his new Huron allies on a raid into the land of the Iroquois. Indian warfare was about to drastically change. In all Champlain was a part of three battles involving the Iroquois. Two with the Mohawk and the third was a show down outside the capital city of the Onondaga.  

Sources:

CHAMPLAIN'S DREAM BY DAVID HAC...

Today we share three stories told by the Seneca Nation.  The first is humorous tale about Fox and Raccoon trying to find out which of them is more crafty.  The second is a story of when Bear and Turtle decide to have a race.  The last is the most famous of the Seneca stories that deals with their most revered site, Bare Hill. 

Sources:

Reworked and based on traditional Seneca Nation stories.  

SKUNNY WUNDY: SENECA INDIAN TALES BY A...

Henry Hudson sails for the flag of the Netherlands and finds the river that bears his name in 1609. Within a few years Dutch traders arrive to barter and acquire precious furs that are all the rage in Europe.  The Five Nations make sure that they get the upper hand in the markets and begin to play the French and Dutch off each other.

IROQUOIS DIPLOMACY ON THE EARLY AMERICAN FRONTIER BY TIMOTHY J. SHANNON

THE CANADIAN ENCYCLOPEDIA

C...

The Iroquois are nowhere and everywhere.  As the Five Nations increase their influence they become a terror to the Huron Nations.  Meanwhile Jesuit missionaries have arrived.  They begin to try desperately to save the souls on both sides from hellfire.

THE CANADIAN ENCYCLOPEDIA

THE JESUITS IN NORTH AMERICA IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY BY FRANCIS PARKMEN

IROQUOIS DIPLOMACY ON THE EARLY AMERICAN FRONTIER BY TIMOTHY J. SHANNON

The dwindling number of beavers in New York along with raids from other nations forces the Iroquois into wars in the West.  Soon the Wenro, Neutrals and the Erie will just be footnotes in the history books.

IROQUOIS DIPLOMACY ON THE EARLY AMERICAN FRONTIER BY TIMOTHY J. SHANNON

THE JESUITS IN NORTH AMERICA IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY BY FRANCIS PARKMEN

Chainbreaker: The Revolutionary War Memoirs of Governor Blacksnake as told to Ben...

The French plan to deal with the Mohawk once and for all.  By once and for all we mean it will take them three expeditions to finally make it to a Mohawk town.  Will the Keepers of the Eastern Door survive the onslaught of a fully trained French army?

Sources:

THE CANADIAN ENCYCLOPEDIA

IROQUOIS DIPLOMACY ON THE EARLY AMERICAN FRONTIER BY TIMOTHY J. SHANNON

IROQUOIA: THE DEVELOPMENT OF A NATIVE WORLD BY WILLIAM ENGELBRECHT