Iroquois

Iroquois

Introduction

The origin of the Iroquois tribe dates back centuries, much before the Europeans settlers first arrived on North American soil. I will discuss the kinship system of the Iroquois tribe, describe three specific examples of how the kinship of the Iroquois culture impacts the way this culture behaves and compare this culture to my own society.

Other names for the Iroquois are Haudenosaunee, People of the Longhouse, and the Six Nations. The Iroquois Indians lived in what is now New York State along the St. Lawrence River. “The Iroquois Indians were known as the "Five Nations" (Miller, 2000-2001)

Discussion

The Iroquois originated from Up State New York. Throughout migration they gained control of most of the northeastern United States and eastern Canada. In 1680, “their empire extended west from the north shore of Chesapeake Bay through Kentucky to the junction of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers; then north following the Illinois River to the south end of Lake Michigan; east across all of lower Michigan, southern Ontario and adjacent parts of southwestern Quebec; and finally south through northern New England west of the Connecticut River through the Hudson and upper Delaware Valleys across Pennsylvania back to the Chesapeake.

Kinship systems in Foraging and Horticultural based societies provide support for people in all stages of their life. Iroquois men were in charge of hunting, trading, and war. Iroquois women were in charge of farming, property, and family. Iroquois clans were ruled by women, who made all the land and resource decisions for each clan. But the chiefs, who made military decisions and trade agreements, were always men. In the Iroquois world, the husband had no real authority over his wife. The women in the longhouse all belonged to the same clan. When a woman married, her husband moved to his wife's longhouse. When the man would ...