MOHAWK

    The Mohawk are one of the original five nations to form the League of the Iroquois or the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. This confederacy or league was formed around A.D.(C.E.) 1450 - 1580 to  establish peace between the five nations and with other nations in the Northeast. A spiritual leader, Dekanawidah (Huron by birth living with the Seneca) and Hiawatha (Onondaga living among the Mohawk) are the legendary leaders to work out the alliances and establish the Great Binding Law: Gayanashagowa. This pre-European unification was used by Franklin and Jefferson as a preliminary model for the unification of the original 13 colonies that becomes the United States. In 1722 a sixth nation, the Tuscarora. Today this group is referred to as the Six Nations, especially since Iroquois is a French derivation of the Algonkian term for 'adders'.

I. Origins

       The origins of the original five Iroquoian nations that formed the League of the Iroquois is quite controversial in archaeological circle. Certainly, they have considerable antiquity in the area of upstate New York, possibly more than 4,000 years.  Some scholars feel that the linguistic relationship to the Cherokee indicates and ancient connection, but the question remains who broke off from whom and when. In the Finger Lakes region of upper New York State the Owasco tradition and representative sites have many traits are felt to represent earlier Iroquoian traditions. Owasco tradition flourished from A.D. (C.E.) 900 - 1400 with large palasaded villages, longhouses, and increasingly sedentary CBS farming practices. This created a landscape of forested upland hunting areas and cleared lowland agricultural areas that were managed with controlled/seasonal  burning. European settlers seemed to have either not understood that they were looking not at a wilderness, but at a better managed landscape; or they just simply lied. Eastern Woodland Indian people were all CBS farmers with cultivated fields/ villages the domain of women and forests the domain of men.

II. Traditional Culture

       Tradtional Iroquois culture with the formation of the League of the Iroquois would have been in place between  A.D. (C.E.) 1450 and 1650, when impact from French, Dutch and English began to bring changes. However, the Iroquois were able to maintain there power longer through the Covenant Chain trade alliances between various Native American groups and Europeans. Wampum shell was a medium of exchange for a considerable time on the frontier. Traditional cultural breakdown really comes more with the changes brought on by the United States.

Language	Macro- Siouan	Iroquoian
Settlement	upper New York	Mohawk Valley
Economcs	CBS Farming,hunting/fishing Longhouse, birch and          elm bark; wampum money	Green Corn;Ripe Corn;    Beans;Squash deer,bear,moose,turkey, bass,smelt,pike hickory,walnut,chestnut, berries,maple syrup
Social Organization	Fireside Family Longhouse Family Clan/Clan Group Tribe Nation/League	Fireside / Longhouse/Clan: Matrilineal totemic exogamous: Bear, Turtle, Wolf matrisibs,kinterms parallel  Tribe/League: Sachem (Counselor of the People);10 from each tribe to League ; Pine Tree Cheifs (judicial)
World View	Myth: Earthdiver ; Creator Twins; Three Sisters (corn/ beans/squash); Thunderers; Wind Spirits	Calendrical Ceremonies JAN Midwinter Ceremonies The Four Sacred Rituals:Feather, Thanksgiving, Personal,Bowl Game  Our Life Supporter Dances:Corn ,Beans,Squash March-May Bush Dance, Maple, Sun,Thunder,Seed Planting June- Strawberry August Bean Sept-Nov Little Corn Green Corn: Our Life Supporter Dances & The Four Sacred Rituals (Again) Nov Harvest Non Calendrical Ceremonies Society of Medicine Men (Shake the Pumpkin) Little Water Society Little People Society Company of Mystic Animals:Bear,Buffalo, Eagle,Otter Societies False Face Society Husk Face Society Other: Ten Day Feast,       Feast of the Dead
Expressed Form	Shell, Bark, Quill, Bead Woodcarving Pottery, Woven cloth	Wampum belts; Bark housing, canoes an containers w/ quill work; masks, clubs Utilitarian ware,capes/shawls

III. Contemporary Culture

       The Iroquois Confederacy was a powerful force in the struggle for the fur trade and frontier of colonial and post colonial America. The Covenant Chain establish competitive trade relations with Native American Nations and invading European powers (French, English and Dutch), but also brought resentment and jealousy. Even when the various Iroquois nations tried to maintain neutrality in conflicts like the Revolutionary War, Americans constantly eroded traditional land holdings often pressuring various groups to move to Canada, Wisconsin and even West to Indian Territory (Oklahoma). A revitalization movement to restore traditional ways under Handsome Lake after 1799 continues to have an effect and is generally referred to as the Longhouse Movement. 

       Even with the many conflicting influences of European Americans such as missionaries and non-Indian schools the Six Nation people have held on to traditions like lacrosse and elements of the Longhouse Movement. Modern traditions have also emerged such as the tradition of Mohawks working the high steel workers on bridges and skyscrapers.

       The Iroquois communities are all listed to include the Mohawk (in bold):

Mohawk Links:

Akwesasne Mohawk

Kahon:wes's Mohawk

Kahnawake Mohawk

The Wampum Chronicles

The Iroquois Constitution

Copyright © S. J. Crouthamel