The People of the LonghouseNative American Iroquois Nation

Five Tribes Seneca, Cayuga, Onodaga, Oneida, Mohawk

Iroquois Native Americans• The Iroquois called themselves “Haudenosaunee” or

“People who build a house.”• The longhouse was a type of building the Iroquois

used to live in• It was more than just a building• It was a metaphor that represented a way of life for

the Iroquois

The Longhouse

• The longhouse was a symbol of how the Iroquois governed themselves

• The Iroquois was a Nation of five tribes who were also considered “extended families”

• The Seneca, Cayuga, Onodaga, Oneida, and Mohawk were all a part of the Iroquois Nation

The Longhouse• The longhouse was the basic unit of the Iroquois

society• It symbolized the idea of being together as one

community• The longhouse roof represented what the people

called “Common Law” or “The Great Law”

The Longhouse

• The Iroquois imagined an invisible longhouse stretching across the land with the ends of the longhouse being occupied by the Seneca and the other end occupied by the Mohawk

• The Oneida, Cayuga, and Onodaga occupied the middle

The Longhouse

• In reality, the longhouse was part of the Iroquois’ domestic architecture

• Essentially, it was a lodge where family members joined together

• As the family grew the longhouse would be added onto, extending and growing longer in size

The Longhouse

The Longhouse• Symbolically, the longhouse also represented the entire

Iroquois Nation • For them, it housed all of the Nation tribes who live on the

land together which we call the state of New York today.• Symbolically, the longhouse would extend from the beginning;

where the sun rises in the East to where it sets in the West• The longhouse was a symbol of peace and the Iroquois will all

become united and strong together.

The Longhouse

• Iroquois women were responsible for cultivating the earth

• They would scrape the dirt into small hills and bury three seeds (corn, bean, and squash)

• These three plants grew by working together • The corn provided the stalk for the bean to climb• The squash spread out on the ground and provided

shade and kept weeds away for the corn and bean

The Iroquois

The Longhouse

• The Iroquois celebrated many rituals or ceremonies• This activity reinforced the feeling of community• Examples of celebrations include the Strawberry

Festival in the Spring and the Harvest Ceremony in the Fall

• Special attention was always paid to the time of Thanksgiving in November

The Iroquois

• It was a special time when the Iroquois recognized the land and how indebted they were to its resources (water, sunlight, seeds, etc.)

• The Iroquois never took the land’s resources for granted

• They were a humble people who were very thankful for what the earth gave them

The Iroquois