Fall+of+the+Iroquois

==THE IROQUOIS The Golden Age & Fall  == = = Photo: http://nativewiki.org/Iroquois
 * ==ESSAY == ||
 * ==RESEARCH SUMMARY == ||
 * == Climate & Geographic Factors == ||
 * ==Events & Leaders == ||
 * ==Transportation & Weapons == ||
 * ==Agriculture & Economy == || == == ||
 * ==Plague & Disease == ||
 * ==Art, Music, & Literature == ||
 * =<span style="font-size: 80%; color: rgb(0,0,128); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">BIBLIOGRAPHY = ||

=<span style="color: rgb(0,0,128);">Essay = = =  <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 70%;">Today, the Iroquois people call parts of the United States and Canada their home, with a population of about 70,000 (Takacs, 37). Although their population is at its greatest, many struggle to keep their ancestors’ traditions alive. What happened to the once great Six Nations Confederacy? The truth is that the Iroquois had little defence from their own downfall. <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 70%;">  <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 70%;">With the arrival of more Europeans came disease, slaughter, and trickery that they could do little to stop. In the end, one civilization destroyed another. It was natural for ancient civilizations to crumble and __what we can learn from the Iroquois, from my research and understanding, is that they were not the main cause of their own demise__.

In about 1630, smallpox, measles, influenza, whooping cough, and diphtheria spread from the Europeans to the Iroquois (Englar, 25). This had a huge affect on the fall of the Iroquois. They had never before encountered these diseases and their traditional medicines of plants, herbs, and berries could do little to stop them (Alexandria, 105). Also, their bodies had little resistance to these new diseases. Smallpox and the measles spread quickly and often killed entire villages. With this new outbreak, new methods of medicine and curing were created (Bial, 34). The Iroquois often had curing ceremonies that were hosted by members of the False Face Society, important medicine men and woman (Alexandria, 108). They also created masks such as the small pox masks to ward of the disease. Although disease meant the collapse of the Native American slave trade, it had a devastating toll on the Iroquois. Half of the Iroquois’ population were killed through the arrival of disease (Bial, 34). In future years, more would continue to die through fighting with the Europeans and Hurons.

The Iroquois were at the height of their power in the early 1600’s, when the first Europeans were not originally a threat (Bial, 46). This would later change. The great demand for fur led the Europeans to trade with many native peoples, including enemies of the Iroquois’. This meant that these enemies had guns and other weapons (Takacs, 34). When the French sided with the Hurons, this meant trouble for the Iroquois. Also, fights between the French and British over the fur trade were not uncommon. The Iroquois tried not to side with either because the wanted to trade with both. When the American Revolutionary War came in 1775, they called Great Council. They decided not to side with either but many Iroquois fought with both British and American anyways. In 1779, the Americans decided to punish the Iroquois for siding with the British although many fought for the Americans. They burned nearly all villages in western New York so many Iroquois had to flee to Canada for British protection (Englar, 28). With wars being fought on their territory, the Iroquois were forced to fight in European battles. This meant that many suffered for the fights of others. After losing many to conflict, the Iroquois would again be targets of Americans.

Life for the Iroquois grew harder as more people arrived from Europe. The formation of the United States in the late 1700’s meant more troubles. The Iroquois were repeatedly misled and forced to sign dozens of treaties that were used to take their land away (Takacs, 35). One of these treaties was the Treaty of Fort Stanwix. This agreement gave away a lot of Iroquois land to the new U.S. government. Many had to be moved to reservations in New York that were too small to support hunting or farming. Later, in 1830, the U.S. Congress passed the Indian Removal Act. This allowed the government to exchange land west of the Mississippi River for American Indian lands in eastern United States. For years, the U.S. government and Iroquois had conflicts over their land. Many Iroquois went to court to keep their New York land. In the end, they lost more land and had to live on reservations (Englar, 33). Many had to ditch traditional work such as farming and hunting because the reservations could not support them, and got more American jobs. Eventually, the Iroquois suffered from a loss of tradition and culture as more turned to more American lives.

Like all ancient civilizations, the Iroquois __ did __ make errors that affected their prosperity such as fighting with neighbouring Indians like the Hurons. But the greatest factors affecting their fall were disease, fighting, and trickery caused by Europeans and Americans. When looking to the Iroquois in search of lessons for the future, we realize, in the past, they were not at fault for their own demise.

=<span style="color: rgb(0,0,128);"> = =<span style="color: rgb(0,0,128);">Research Summary <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">Climate & Geographic Factors =

-northeastern states and southern canada **[4]** -typically new york state area -forests,rivers, and fertile marshes provided plants, game, waterfowl, and fish -land considered “longhouse”, Mohawk guarded east, Seneca west, and the Oneida, Onondaga, and Cayuga in the middle -240-mile long trail, running from albany to buffalo, linked nations =<span style="color: rgb(0,0,128);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">-later, started moving villages away from lakes and forests and onto high hills and mountains to protect villages **Source:** **http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iroquois**   =


 * Events & Leaders**

-iroquois at height of power in early 1600s, first europeans not a threat **[1]** -mid 1600s, crushed hurons/other neighboring tribes -1700s, dominated all of new york and lower canada -trade with europeans gave them metal tools and weapons for fur -demand for fur caused europeans to trade with other native people and iroquois enemies, meant they had guns too -caused conflicts between europeans and enemy tribes -many died from new diseases and conflict -the french and indian wars meant the division of the iroquois, mohawk/cayuga with french, rest with english **[1]** -within 80 yrs, population dropped from 25,000 in 1660 to 14,000 in 1740 **[4]** -American revolution also division, Tuscarora/oneida with americans, rest with british -americans won war, iroquois fled to south ontario, confederacy scattered -formation of U.S. meant loss of land for iroquois **[5]** -mislead and forced to sign treaties that took land away -over time, beliefs/traditions abandoned -currently approx. 70,000 iroquois, 30,000 in US, 40,000 in canada
 * = Leaders = || = Famous For = || = Years = ||
 * Joseph Brant || British Military Captain, Brantford named for him (Mohawk) || 1742-1807 ||
 * Chief Cornplanter || Last Seneca War Chief || 1730/40s-1836 ||
 * Red Jacket || Orator (Seneca) || 1752-1830 ||
 * Source: http://www.indigenouspeople.net/leaders.htm**

= =
 * Transportation & Weapons**

-made knives, scrapers, other tools out of flint **[1] [4]** -used hammer stones to shape flint and bone or antlers to make sharp edges on knives, arrows, or spears -used stones for heads of hammers and war clubs -had handles of hickory, maple, or cherry -held together with twine and glue made from boiled fish scales and animal parts -hickory wood bows, maple arrows -used sinew (animal tendons) to attach arrow and arrow head -sometimes used blowdarts -when encountered french and dutch, traded for firearms **[4]** -canoes made of elm bark **[2]** -stripped pieces of bark, remove outer layer, join sheets over ash wood frame -canoes twelve to forty feet -largest for carrying 20 warriors on lakes and large rivers -smaller 2-3 people for short journeys -although sturdy, elm bark slow, heavy -also stole or traded for light, fast birchbark canoes from other tribes -used snowshoes to get through snow **[4]** -would move villages about every 20 yrs. for better protection or soil no longer good

Photo: http://media.photobucket.com/image/iroquois%20weapons/jackcrafty/11-05-2008/iroquois-mohawkbow1.jpg = Agriculture & The Economy =

-spring, tapped maple trees and cooked sap to make syrup and sugar **[2] [3]** -women/girls planted beans, corn, and squash -grew very well together, called three sisters -also planted sunflowers, provided oil and flavouring -men grew tobacco -summer, picked milkweed, onions, other greens -gathered wild strawberries, other early berries/fruit -harvest corn in july -fall, picked wild plums, grapes, cherries, chestnuts, black walnuts, hickory nuts -men hunted large game (deer, black bear, elk, moose), trapped small game (beavers, raccoons, porcupine, other small animals) -also caught gamebirds like ducks, geese, wild turkeys, ruffled grouse, pigeons **[5]** -fishing supplied trout, salmon, bass, perch, whitefish, and eels -exchanged food, clothing, jewelry, tools, for shells, copper, and others -when encountered french and dutch in 1600’s, traded animal skins for firearms, metal kettles, cloth, glass beads, and tools = Plague & Diseases =

-Great Southeastern Smallpox epidemic atlantic’s most lethal germs **[1]** -Iroquois had little/no resistance to european disease caused by settlers -died from measles, smallpox, influenza, whooping cough, diphtheria -cut population in half, so fictive kinship made for regrouping people in longhouses **[5]** -had curing ceremonies, small pox masks -after smallpox came colombian exchange disease through interaction with english -thought small outbreak of yellow fever, caused by ships with mosquito carriers -taking infected native captives and dispersing them on trade routes spread germs quicker **[1]** -victims of raid more vulnerable to infection and high mortality rates -disease meant collapse of native slave trade -by revolutionary war, regained pop. by gaining smaller tribes and conquests **[4]**

Photo: <span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: Arial; line-height: normal; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">http://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/6263783 = Art, Music, & Literature =

-wampum (shell beads) used to record history by beading stories into belts **[2] [3]** -women decorated clothing with dyed porcupine quills, shells, moose hair, glass beads from trade -both men/women wore necklaces, earrings, hair ornaments of feathers, fur, shells, bones, claws, wood, stones -painted bodies with geometrical designs or animal figures -used a paint made of red ocher, bloodroot, charcoal, sunflower seed oil -painted/carved things into trees and bark -most crafts like, baskets, mats, clothes, fishnets, traps, burden carriers, bottles for medicine, filling for pillows and mattresses used for necessity -toys were dolls, toy weapons **[3]** -made ceremonial masks of corn husk and wood to fight sickness and evil spirits -iroquois instruments include drums and rattles made of turtle shells filled with seeds or pebbles -men tie deer hooves to legs which rattled as they danced **[4]** -had many legends and stories, told by fire by elders -history was passed through stories -lived in longhouses**[5]** -had tree trunk frame, elm bark cover, small hole in ceiling to let smoke escape -after europeans, lived in log cabins, had long houses for guests or meetings

<span style="font-size: 18px; color: rgb(0,0,128); line-height: 27px; font-family: arial;">**Bibliography**

**[1] Bial, Raymond. Longhouses. New York: Scholastic Inc., 2004**


 * [2] Koestler-Grack, Rachel A. The Iroquois: Longhouse Builders. Minnesota: Capstone Press, 2003

[3] Takacs, Stephanie. The Iroquois. New York: Scholastic Inc., 2003

[4] Alexandria, Virginia. Realm of the Iroquois. Virginia: Time Life Books, 1993**


 * [5] Englar, Mary. The Iroquois: The Six Nations Confederacy. Minnesota: Capstone Press, 2003**