POLITICAL ORGANIZATION
The Iroquois was a tribe that primarily inhabited the northeastern United States and is still going on today. Their government was run by The Grand Council of the Iroquois League. The Council was made up of the Six Nations: Cayuga, Mohawk, Onondaga, Oneida, Seneca and Tuscarora. Each Iroquois nation had between eight and fourteen leaders in the Great Council, place where they would vote and make political decisions that pertained to all nations. Women held real power in the Iroquois tribe. The leaders of the Great Council were called “chiefs” and were elected by the matriarchs of each tribe. The matriarchs were the mothers of each clan. If any chief failed to obey the orders of the matriarch, he could be demoted from his position through a process called “knocking off the horns.” Also, aside from the chief, each individual nation had its own tribal council where they could make local pronouncements. The Iroquois form of political organization was very efficient. “In fact, the Iroquois Confederacy was one of the examples of representative democracy used as a model by America's founding fathers.” Their proficient political union was so organized that the United States applied some of it to their form of government.
Lewis, Orrin, and Laura Redish. “Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Indians." Iroquois Indian Fact Sheet. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Mar. 2011.
WARFARE
The Iroquois were constantly at war. Their greatest enemies throughout the years were the French and the Illini. Beginning in 1609, the Iroquois involved in the Beaver Wars against the French and their allies, the Huron. The Beaver Wars started when the Iroquois exterminated the beaver population in their territory and looked for beaver in other lands. Their desire to search for sources of beaver pelts and maintain their trades functioning adequately caused these wars. In 1677, the Iroquois signed the Covenant Chains, a form of alliance with the English in which they would battle the French and the Huron. Historians believe that if the Iroquois had wanted to destroy the French they would have easily done so, but “rather they probably wanted to displace the Native nations traditionally allied with the French such as the Illini and Hurons, and take on the role as middlemen to the more primitive western tribes themselves.” Meanwhile the Iroquoian colonized the northern shore of Lake Ontario, causing trouble in Illinois Country and a series of battles developed after this.
In 1701, after troubles dealing with territory on the Ohio River emerged, the Iroquoian and the French signed the Great Peace Of Montreal, treaty which brought peace temporarily. After the treaty, the Iroquoian became a neutral tribe to avoid further confrontations. Nonetheless, being traditional enemies, in 1754 the Iroquois allied the British during the French and Indian War against the French and their Algonquian allies. In the beginning of the 18th century, Tuscarora was the last tribe to join the Nations. After the American Revolution began in 1763, the Iroquoian Nations had their first major split. The Oneida and Tuscarora joined the colonists, while the Cayuga, Onondaga, Seneca and Mohawk maintained their position with Great Britain. Because of their loyalty, the British Crown gave the Iroquois large quantities of land on the Grand River after the war was over.
Blasingham, E., Joseph Jablow, J. Matson, J. Schlarman, E Voeglin, and J. Jones. "The Iroquois Wars." The Illini: Lords of the Mississippi Valley. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Mar. 2011.
This picture above is of Iroquoian Leader Tachnechdorus, commonly known as Logan. He lived during the mid-late 1700s.
Citation: "Tachnechdorus: An Iroquoian Leader." Ohio Historical Society. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Mar. 2011.
Iroquoian member scalping French soldier.
Citation: "Chapter 3: Iroquois." Duhaime.org - Bringing Legal Information To The World. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Mar. 2011.
