Iroquois Confederacy Background Guide
History and Practices of the Iroquois Confederacy When the French, Dutch, and English began to penetrate present-day upstate New York in the early seventeenth century, they encountered the remarkable political system of the Hodenosaunee or “People of the Longhouse.” Five Iroquoian nations (in the 18th century it became six) - the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, and Senecas - occupied the region form the Hudson valley in the east to Lake Erie in the west and cooperated in a League that preserved peace among its members and exerted tremendous influence upon its neighbors. This League of the Iroquois, as the Europeans called it, played a dominant role in the history of northeastern North America before
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The Mohawks agreed, then the Oneidas, Cayugas, and Senecas. The fierce Tadodaho resisted, but Hiawatha is said to have combed the snakes from his hair to ease his torment. Finally, Tadodaho accepted the pact as well. Onondage became the site of the League’s central council fire and Tadodaho the fire’s guardian. Deganawidah placed deer antlers on the heads of the chiefs of the Five Nations as symbols of their …show more content…
However, in regards to war and trade, war escalates when Samuel de Champlain founded Quebec City in 1608. Champlain explored the lake that bears his name and helped put France on the path that led to an empire built on the fur trade. But Indians played crucial roles in establishing the patterns and terms of that empire. Champlain began a policy of sending young traders into Indian villages to learn Native languages and ways of living. He reportedly told a gathering of Indians that “our young men will marry your daughters, and we shall be one people.” He made alliances with the Algonquins, Montagnais, and Hurons to gain access to rich fur territories farther west; the Indians pursued alliances with the French as a means of securing European trade goods. However, this cooperation threatened the powerful Iroquois of upstate New