The Iroquois Political System

The fur trade was a significant part of Canadian history. With the founding of the Hudson's Bay and Northwest Company during the1670's, the fur trade managed growth and development all the way into Western Canada until 1870. The fur trade was unique, for it was the only industry that was based on an exchange of goods between two very different groups of people (namely, the Indians and the Europeans). Although most people think of the fur trade as being a male dominated industry, Indian women also played very important roles in the industry's development. However, the women's experiences differed in relation to

With the introduction of new resources found desirable in the new environment by the colonists and new products imported from Europe, Native Americans were launched into a brand new world of commerce to keep up with the quick pace of the developments. The Europeans valued the fur of buffaloes while Native Americans soon “became dependent on the manufactured goods the fur trade brought them, and hunted to the meet the demands...rather than the needs of their families” (Page 15). Moreover, Native Americans previously used animals in religious rituals, but after European contact, animals became “regarded as a form of property” and “crucial components of Navajo and Pueblo economy” (Page 13). Accordingly, Native Americans engaged in trade with Europeans way more than they had with each other before the arrival, boosting the rate of economic activity in the New World. Adding on, many colonists emigrated to America in order to gain economic freedom which came with owning property. However, “Indian peoples generally regarded land as something to be shared and utilized...They soon learned that

Fur trade between the French and Indians began with the exchange of small items the Indians didn’t have, though it became an important trade source for all of Europe, especially by Samuel de Champlain

The British were interested in the production and circulation of fur as a commodity in the world market and were in need of labor. The Indians were the only available source of skilled labor, so they became part of the production process.

Before the American Revolution, Native Americans created diverse and complex societies and organized them around common principles. Relationships to land and leadership played important roles in structuring Native life, but served unique functions in each community. For both the Iroquois and Wampanoag, their relationships to land embodied their lifeways; their land was their identity, their resource, their claim to power and sovereignty, and more. While the Iroquois vested leadership powers in the institution of the Great League of Peace, the Wampanoag depended on the leadership of powerful sachems such as Massasoit and Metacomet. However, both the Iroquois and Wampanoag used leadership in their tribes to preserve peace to a degree and protect their sovereignty when dealing with Europeans and other Natives. Despite their similarities and differences, the Wampanoag and Iroquois distinctively used their relationships to land and leadership to protect their interests.

In this world there are many different constitutions. While many of them are long, they can be short. Many constitutions were written a long time ago, while some were just written recently or just a few years ago. The ones that were made a long time ago have even been passed down and changed for people to understand now. Even though all constitution have similarities, they all have differences between each other as well.

The Iroquois nations, one of the oldest and most prestigious tribes in the history of all Native Americans. In this paper I will be showing why the Iroquois ended up siding with the English through the French and Indian, and Revolutionary wars through factors of colonization. I will also be showing some features of their culture, considering the iroquois are not well known in the western United States, and discussing the fall of the once great tribes. The main reason I 've chosen the Iroquois is because of my own prior knowledge of the Iroquois, and their relationship to lacrosse. I started playing lacrosse my freshman year of highschool. The very first thing I learned, before any stick skills or any basics of the game, was the history of it. Our coach insisted that we knew the history and the culture of the game, and that we respected it. I was intrigued by how interesting the game was. The game was made as a form of war. Lacrosse was sometimes even referred to as “Little brother of war”. It would be called this because injury, even death were common during a lacrosse game. When two tribes had a disagreement, but didn 't feel the need to have a legitimate war, the opposing tribes would send their best warriors to the battlefield and play a lacrosse game. Games would be played to a score of 5-7, but considering how long the fields could be, these games could take hours, days even, however long it took for one of the tribes to win,

One of the most important Native American groups in North American history is the Iroquois. The Iroquois Indians have been estimated to have been around as early as 900 ad. They lived in what are called long houses. The long houses were built in rows of one or two. They could be up to 200 feet long and 20 feet wide. These homes accommodated 5 to 20 families. They had a central hole in the center of the house that was used for a fire that all of the families used. The houses were covered in elm bark on the outside. The villages were for the most part permanent. They only moved villages when they needed to. A reason for moving the village would have been if they had used up all of the fertile land. The Iroquois moved about every 20 years. The Iroquois lived in what is today upstate New York and parts of Canada along the ST. Lawrence River Valley. The Iroquois were once one strong nation. In the mid 1500’s the Europeans started moving into the St. Lawrence River Valley, and the Nation was split up. It was split into five Nations. The Mohawk, Seneca, Oneida, Onondaga, and the Cayuga. Each Nation was free to peruse their own interests. In 1570 the League of Iroquois Nation was formed.

The Dutch in 1609 sent an English sea captain named Henry Hudson, who came to the findings of Delaware Bay and New York on his voyage. Along this land would be referred to New Netherland. 1626 the Dutch would also purchase Manhattan from the Native Indians. In Manhattan the Dutch would establish a territory called New Amsterdam to inhabit, New Amsterdam became the capital of New Netherland. Dutch settlements would have freedom of business and religious practices unlike the strict beliefs and government other colony’s pursed, New Netherland was filled with diversity; in addition would cause different prospective on government and living. A relinquish Peter Stuyvesant, the governor of the colony wouldn’t put up an

Remaining as distant as possible, the Iroquois played a large role in trade between the British and Native Americans. In efforts to gain support

Neutrality was seen as a tool that was meant to be used to further Iroquois trade and protect their lands. A fundamental part of Haudenosaunee and European relations was the trade, especially of beaver pelts. In the early 16th century, the Confederacy sought to expand northward and establish trade relations with their Ottawa neighbors and into Montreal. This expanding a tremendous amount of pushback from the French while also upsetting British officials, particularly those in Albany.

1). The reason for the construction of the Iroquois confederacy, or the league of the Iroquois, (Haudenosaunee) was the impeding factor of disunity between the tribes. Hienwatha, a Mohawk Iroquois, lived in Ontario and observed the disunity between the Iroquois tribes. In an attempt to unify the nations, he approached rival tribes and argued the benefits of unification. Initially, his idea is shut down by the elders of each tribe. The changing climate that started to occur, however, increased confrontations between tribes. Hienwatha yet again tries to explain to the Iroquois people about the possibility of peace and is rejected again. He then alludes the nations to a weaved belt of wampum shells which supposedly illustrated the connectedness of the five Iroquois nations. He traveled among the nations, of which all then supported the idea of unity, and was able to form a seemingly impenetrable force.

Returning to the idea of native agency, the Iroquois, in response to unfavorable treatment, could simply cease trade. The Europeans were spending large sums of money to sail across foreign waters to engage with people who dominated the lands stimulating European economies. A Mi’kmaq raised a critical question, “for if France, as thou sayest, is a little terrestrial paradise, art thou sensible to leave it Why risk thy life and thy property every year, and why venture thyself with such risk… to the storms and tempests of the sea in order to come to a strange and barbarous country which though considerest the poorest and least fortunate of the world?” The European powers needed to tread lightly and respectfully, despite their biases of the indigenous people, in order to ensure that their flow of money not be hindered. Understanding the simplicity of the situation, the Iroquois formed an alliance with a European power attempting to grow, the Dutch. In 1609, Henry Hudson arrived from the Netherlands and established the West India Company in the Hudson River Valley area. The Dutch were known to make the best firearms at the time and engaged in trade with the Iroquois. The Iroquois gladly accepted trade offers of guns for furs, knowing

Competitions between European empires sparked conflicts in many relationships among various people in North America. One of the main competitions was between the Dutch and the French. The Dutch and the French both had a big interest in the furs that the Natives were selling, and were willing to go to any extent to outbid the opponent. Evidence at the bottom of page 96 to the top of page 97 shows that the Indians would force this competition. “Just as the French adapted to Indian trade protocols, Indians began to think of the goods as commodities with negotiable prices. They learned never to trade with the first vessel to come their way but to await several to compete for their furs”(96-97). This created a competition between the two countries,

The economy of the Iroquois was mostly a hunter-gatherer society and horticulture. They would fish gather berries, plants and roots. Their primary weapons were bows and arrows, stone axes, knives, and blowguns. This nation would trade with other native groups around them. Clay pipes were an important trade item.