Who Are the Haudenosaunee?
The **Haudenosaunee** ("People of the Longhouse"), known to Europeans as the Iroquois Confederacy, are a powerful alliance of originally five, later six, nations: **Mohawk** (Kanien'kehá:ka), **Oneida** (Onyota'a:ka), **Onondaga** (Onöñda'gega), **Cayuga** (Gayogo̱hó:nǫ'), **Seneca** (Onöndowága), and **Tuscarora** (Ska:rù:rę', joined 1722). Numbering approximately 125,000 enrolled members across reservations in New York, Ontario, Quebec, Wisconsin, and Oklahoma, the Haudenosaunee created one of history's most sophisticated indigenous governments—the **Great Law of Peace** (Gayanashagowa)—which influenced the US Constitution and continues functioning today. Their confederacy united nations that had been at war, creating lasting peace through democratic governance, women's political power, and sophisticated diplomacy.
The Great Law of Peace
According to Haudenosaunee tradition, the **Great Law of Peace** was brought by the Peacemaker (Deganawida) and Hiawatha (Ayenwatha) to end devastating warfare among the five nations, possibly around 1142 CE (dated by eclipse references). The Great Law established a confederate government with 50 **sachems** (chiefs) representing the nations in Grand Council at Onondaga, the confederacy's capital. Critically, **Clan Mothers**—senior women of matrilineal clans—held power to nominate and remove sachems, giving women political authority unusual in world history. Decisions required consensus, not majority vote, ensuring all nations agreed. The symbolism of the **longhouse**—a single dwelling housing extended family under one roof—represented the confederacy: one extended family under shared government. The Great Law's concepts of federalism, checks and balances, and representative democracy demonstrably influenced the US Founders, acknowledged in a 1988 Congressional resolution.
Longhouse Culture and Clan System
Traditional Haudenosaunee lived in **longhouses**—bark-covered structures up to 300 feet long housing multiple families related through the female line. The longhouse remains central to Haudenosaunee identity; traditional religion is called "Longhouse religion." Society organizes through **matrilineal clans** (Turtle, Bear, Wolf, and others varying by nation); clan membership determines identity, marriage rules (one cannot marry within one's clan), and ceremonial responsibilities. The **Three Sisters**—corn, beans, and squash planted together—formed the agricultural base, with women controlling farming and food distribution. The annual ceremonial cycle includes **Midwinter Ceremony** (the new year), **Strawberry Ceremony**, **Green Corn Ceremony**, and **Harvest Festival**, maintaining spiritual relationships with the natural world. **Wampum belts**—beaded records of treaties and agreements—served as legal documents, with the Two Row Wampum symbolizing Haudenosaunee-European relations as parallel, non-interfering paths.
Colonial Era and Dispossession
The Haudenosaunee dominated northeastern North America from the 1600s through the American Revolution. The **Beaver Wars** (1640s-1700s) expanded Iroquois territory westward as they sought to control the fur trade. Playing French and British against each other, the Confederacy maintained independence until the American Revolution, when the nations split: most Mohawk, Cayuga, Onondaga, and Seneca allied with Britain; Oneida and Tuscarora supported the Americans. The **Sullivan-Clinton Campaign** (1779) deliberately destroyed 40+ Haudenosaunee towns, creating refugees. Post-war treaties stripped 95% of Haudenosaunee lands. The Six Nations of the Grand River reserve in Ontario (established 1784) became the largest Haudenosaunee community, while New York reservations shrank dramatically. The **Seneca leader Red Jacket** famously defended traditional religion against Christian missionaries, while **Handsome Lake** founded the Longhouse Religion (Gai'wiio) in 1799, blending traditional beliefs with social reform addressing alcohol and family breakdown.
Contemporary Haudenosaunee
Today, Haudenosaunee governance continues through traditional councils and, on some reservations, elected systems imposed by US/Canadian governments—creating ongoing internal conflict about legitimate authority. The Grand Council still meets at Onondaga; the Confederacy issues its own passports and maintains sovereignty claims. **Mohawk ironworkers** became famous for constructing New York City's skyscrapers, their communities spanning the US-Canada border. **Lacrosse**, invented by the Haudenosaunee as "the Creator's game," has spread globally while remaining spiritually significant. Economic development includes the Oneida Nation's casino enterprises, making them one of New York's largest employers. Language revitalization addresses critical decline—Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and Tuscarora all face endangerment with only hundreds to thousands of fluent speakers. The Haudenosaunee continue asserting sovereignty, from international environmental advocacy to border-crossing rights to refusing US citizenship offered under the 1924 Indian Citizenship Act, maintaining they are citizens of their own nations.
References
- Fenton, W. N. (1998). The Great Law and the Longhouse: A Political History of the Iroquois Confederacy. University of Oklahoma Press.
- Richter, D. K. (1992). The Ordeal of the Longhouse: The Peoples of the Iroquois League in the Era of European Colonization. UNC Press.
- Johansen, B. E. (1982). Forgotten Founders: How the American Indian Helped Shape Democracy. Harvard Common Press.
- Snow, D. R. (1994). The Iroquois. Blackwell Publishers.