The Iroquois
The Iroquois Indians lived to be the most powerful Indians in the northeast. They figured out the ways of life and lived the best they could. Where they lived, how they met their necessities, and customs and culture were what kept them here to stay forever.
The Iroquois lived close to where we live today. They lived in the northeast regions of the united states up near New York and Pennsylvania. They were very close to the Atlantic Ocean. The Iroquois Indians lived in the Appalachian Mountains. There are lots of hills, mountains, and fields of grass. They built their village in the grassy areas were it was flat and not too hard to build on. There were also some rocky areas. There were lots of different types of water sources such as rivers, brooks, and streams. The Iroquois Indians lived near what is now the Great Lake, Lake Ontario. They always had everything they needed. They had enough water for the entire tribe. As they lived in this area it was easy to know where they were.
The Iroquois Indians met their needs much different than today. Their homes can be up to 50-100 ft long and were 15-20 ft high. They lived in longhouses with multiple other families. This shelter lasted all year long. They built them out of tree bark and animal skins. The inside was covered in animal skins and the outside with bark. They could always add another person in by extending the long house. The far end was always used for storage. The main food they ate were squash, beans, and corn. The Iroquois called these vegetables the three sisters. They also ate lots of deer and meat. They had a ceremony for every animal they ate or killed. Corn was the most grown vegetable in the Iroquois village, so there were over one hundred ways to cook it. A few ways were to eat it right off the cob, shell it and leave it there to dry, or pound it into powder.
The Iroquois clothing was simple but complicated to make. It was very colorful, beautiful, and almost always had beads. It was made of deerskin or ways decorated with rabbit fur. In the winter, women would wear deerskin leggings and a long dress. Men would wear long sleeves and pants. It depended on the snow fall what shoes you would wear. If there wasn't much snow, they would wear their moccasins, if there was a lot of snow then they would wear snow shoes. In the spring they would wear a string of flowers or beads. The necessities of the Iroquois were plentiful.
The Iroquois beliefs were endless and they believed in many spirits They believed in the great spirit, animal spirits, sky people, and other things like that. They did not actually worship their false gods and spirits, but they gave sacrifices to them.They thought all living things were under the care of spirits. They had no super important leader except they had a peace leader. The peace leader was in charge of all the sacred ceremonies.
One of the many ceremonies they had was new year. They kept track of all the stars and every time they saw the same constellations again they would celebrate new year. The village elders would go from house to house telling the village of the new year. On this special celebration, they would wear a robe made of bare skin or buffalo hide and would wear a wreath of corn husk on there head and ankles. This celebration lasted seven days. When the elders got to a longhouse, they would tell the people in that house to make a new fire. As they stirred the ashes of the old fire they were told to clean the house. Then they would pray and leave. Another interesting custom they have was, smoking sacred tobacco. They didn't smoke it how we do today but they tossed some on the fire during sacred ceremonies. They did this when they met with the counsel, too. This tobacco was grown all over the village. They also offered it up to the great spirit and all the other spirits. Over all, the Iroquois are a very spiritual tribe.
In conclusion the Iroquois tribe were very good people. Were they lived, how they met their needs, and their customs and beliefs is how they lived.They lived the best way possible as they survived their environment. They still live today, and they still keep their customs going and alive.