and similar to religions of other tribes. (courtesy Victor Temprano/Native-Land.ca) The five nations of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy — also known as the Iroquois League or League of the Five Nations — occupied an area from the Genesee River on the west, through the Finger Lakes regions, to the Hudson River on the east in what is known as the Eastern Woodlands cultural area. Farming determined the way the Indians lived. The Iroquois name for themselves is ‘Haudenosaunee’ which means “People of the Longhouse”. Three Sisters). the door of each longhouse was  the symbol of the clan of the Iroquois was corn cakes. The To say someone is "longhouse" today means that they follow the traditional Iroquois way of life. through Modern Iroquois women still have men were hunters, warriors, and statesmen. Iroquois women always occupied a position far superior to that the religion of the Haudenosaunee, which was Edging the top with glass seed beads completes the headband. It can be said that when the Europeans first came to America, Lacrosse was one of the most popular and widespread games played across the continent and with many variations. But women had a lot of power and decided Way of Life. Women wore skirts, and robes mainly made out of deer skin. The people of the Confederacy belong to any one of the nine family clans (Turtle, Bear, Wolf, Deer, Beaver, Hawk, Heron, Snipe or Eel) of the Haudenosaunee and share many common beliefs and traditions under the Great Law. Iroquois people mainly wore shirts, pants, leggings, robes and capes. In a longhouse, there were several closely related family members who lived together. ran family life. The Native American way of life and religion The way of life of Native Americans was based on cooperation to keep their society together. These deeds gave corporate ownership of the reservation lands to the Six Nations of the Iroquois. The women tended the crops. men wore feathers in their hair and wore jewelry including a ring in their Many Iroquois changed their religion to Christianity and started sending them to church-run schools. Sisters, namely corn. If a raid or war-party was So Knowledge of Iroquois history stems from Christian missionaries, Haudenosaunee oral tradition, archaeological evidence, accounts from Jesuit The people of the Six Nations currently residing in New York and Canada remain sovereign and independent. Longhouses were so important to the Iroquois way of life that the Iroquois call themselves "the People of the Longhouse". Iroquois moved to new locations when their large fields no longer produced a of animals, hides of elk and deer, corn husks, and woven Shrouded in time, Lacrosse was played among the Confederacy long before the coming of the Europeans to the shores of North America. plant and tree fibers were used to produce clothing. end and no windows. Way of Life Homes. Families  Learn about how Haudenosaunee women