THE IROQUOIS.   Term Paper ID:11007 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Prominent role of women, religion, economics & food, mistreatment by whites & govt.... More...

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Paper Abstract: Prominent role of women, religion, economics & food, mistreatment by whites & govt. Paper Introduction: The Iroquois were a branch of North American Indians who belonged to the Hokan-Siouan linguistic family. They were the initiators of the Iroquois Confederacy, or Iroquois League, a North American Indian confederation consisting of five nations joined together for greater strength, commerce and survival: Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga and Seneca (founded 1570). Around 1722, the Tuscarora joined the League, and these people inhabited what is now the north and west sides of New York's Hudson River. These Indians numbered 5,500, and materially, politically and militarily their culture was the most advanced in the Eastern Woodlands. The Iroquois conceived of themselves as living in a metaphorical "longhouse" in which each nation had a role. For example, the Mohawks guarded the eastern door. By allowing neigh Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. Through this judicious use of food rationing and control, the womenquite successfully made their influence felt in many other areas of triballife. Still, the men did have a large portion of control as well, andone should not make the mistake of believing that the Iroquois women hadall the power and did exactly as they pleased. Where the women of the tribes are concerned, Iroquois women are uniquein history for one simple reason: they possessed most of the power withintheir society. [6]Ibid., 42 . In addition, the Iroquois were seen as sinful becauseof what were perceived to be "filthy" practices and habits by theEuropeans: Perhaps superstition could be ascribed simply to ignorance and childish minds, but "filthiness" was sin. For example, since the food was tied into the economicorder of the tribe and the women had complete control over it, they alsohad complete power. Without resources, very little can be accomplished for the good ofthe culture. Thedaily household meals were also affected by this one-sided situation, andfurther control came to the women in this manner. However, a crisis between the Iroquois and thewhites in the mid-18 s reverted protection of the Indians to the federalgovernment. Today, the Iroquois live mostly in Ontarioand New York, where they occupied disputed lands during the 197 s and early198 s. They controlled the use of foodduring religious and other ceremonies and significant tribal events. As noted by Brown, "The nation was not amatriarchy, as claimed by some, but the matrons were an eminence grise."[8] Still, one cannot underestimate the fact that these women remained apowerful influence and shared their control with the men. The Iroquois women remained in control of the economic base of theirsociety: food and sustenance. Divorce was easy, and--utterest abomination--male homosexuality was tolerated openly, even institutionalized.[1 ]One can see why this misunderstanding by the Europeans (and theethnocentricity) made the Iroquois misunderstood as "savage heathens." Government treatment and understanding of the Iroquois and otherIndians was often no better than the Europeans' (since mostly anyone if noteveryone in power was a European). The Iroquois in the American Revolution. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 1972.Jennings, Francis. The Iroquois could be particularly ferocious if the need arose.Different types of warfare included the small war party out for revenge ora claim to the all-out invasion of enemy lands by the warriors of one ormore of the tribes acting together. New York: Syracuse University Press, 1984.Wilson, Edmund. Around 1722, the Tuscarora joined the League, andthese people inhabited what is now the north and west sides of New York'sHudson River. In the end, it would becommercial trade (much as this element is what is bringing the world'sdifferent cultures closer together) that would bring the Iroquois and whitepeople closer together. Because of their influence withthe war parties, they had a voice in the way war was conducted and also theway in which treaties came to be established. For instance, they could withhold the food formeetings of Council or for war parties. By the 183 s, statecontrol over Indian matters was generally the norm and Indian legislationfairly comprehensive. Women were mistresses of their own bodies. They were the initiators of theIroquois Confederacy, or Iroquois League, a North American Indianconfederation consisting of five nations joined together for greaterstrength, commerce and survival: Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga andSeneca (founded 157 ). In the way in which theyinfluenced the Council Elders, their influence was ancillary to the malepower, not in place of it. Apologies to the Iroquois. New York, 197 .Graymont, Barbara. Some researchavailable on the Iroquois reports that the women of the tribe did not exertthis much power: "Influence of the woman did not reach outward to the affairs of the gens, phatry or tribe, but seemed to have commenced and ended with the household."[9] These seemingly modern "model" Indians were often misunderstood by thesettlers and colonials as filthy savages and practitioners of ranksuperstition. North Carolina: North Carolina Press, 1975.Kelsay, I. [11]Edmund Wilson, Apologies to the Iroquois (New York: Farrar,Straus & Cudahy, 196 ), 1 8-1 9. [8]Ibid., 418. [1 ]Francis Jennings, The Invasion of America: Indians, Colonialism,and the Cant of Conquest (North Carolina: North Carolina Press, 1975), 46. From his earliest years, the Iroquois male had been trained in these skills. For example, the economic control allowed for the women to gainancillary types of control. New York: Farrar, Straus & Cudahy, 196 .----------------------- [1]J. According toEdmund Wilson: This report is a classical statement of the domineering Yankee attitude, self-interested and hence self-righteous, which attempts to ride roughshod over Indian rights and to liquidate Indian society. Every European knew that the Christian moral law was founded in the "laws of nature." Here were these natural people violating these supposedly natural laws without compunction. By allowing neighboring tribes to be absorbedinto the group from territorial wars, the League came to number 16, bythe end of the 17th century.[2] Their leaders were Cornplanter, Red Jacketand Joseph Bryant, and all the nations but the Oneida sided with theBritish during the American Revolution. They showed small concern about covering their nakedness. Most important, Iroquois women maintained the right to distribute and dispense all food, even procured by men. However, New York state, in 1888, tried to regain control ofIndian affairs. They were also involved inreligious activities to some significant degree; Brown calls them "keepersof the faith."[7] The lifestyle and activities in the longhouse were alsocontrolled by women. How this control was achieved is through a means very similar tothe ways in which men dominate and control power in and between countriestoday: economics. Whenever the Indians discussed "metaphysics," the Colonialswere likely to hear stories of how men had turned into beasts. officials were concerned. If after several warnings he still did not conform, she would initiate impeachment proceedings.[5] Yet one cannot treat the unprecedented control of Iroquois women wheresocial power is concerned as if it were an historical accident or oddity.There are some underlying reasons why the women of the Iroquois were ableto exercise an unprecedented power balance in their culture, a balancewhich has yet to see another culture rival it today where women are incontrol. [3]Barbara Graymont, The Iroquois in the American Revolution(Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 1972), 17. Many of them have become urbanized, however. [5]Brown, 415. [9]Ibid. Iroquois agricultural activities, which yielded bountiful harvests, were highly organized under elected female leadership. This unparalleled role of women in the control of Iroquois politics,religion and domestic affairs cannot be emphasized enough. Joseph Bryant 1743-18 7: Man of Two Worlds. [2]Ibid., 7. As noted by Francis Jennings: For the Indians intersocietal commerce triumphed by subordinating and eliminating all crafts except those directly related to the European- Indian trade, while intertribal trading relations survived only insofar as they served the purposes of intersocial trade.[12] BibliographyBrown, J. Men found their occupation in the huntand in war: Skill in hunting, oratory, and warlike courage were the ideals of Iroquois manhood. The Invasion of America: Indians, Colonialism, and the Cant of Conquest. The power of controlling economics is often a greatpower. Brown: The actions of the new elder were closely watched, and if his behavior deviated from the accepted norms, he was warned by the woman delegate. Some cultures allowed women to be a powerful force in theirsociety, but not many. It was assumed (without threat of federal retribution)that the state could eliminate tribal property holdings. As pointed out by Brown: Iroquois women controlled the factors of agriculture production, for they had a right in the land which they cultivated, and in the implements and the seeds. Young boys would spend their time practicing with the toy bows and arrows, throwing hatchets, and playing at war and hunting. They were happily loose about premarital sex. This was especially significant as stored food constituted one of the major forms of wealth for the tribe.[6]One can see how economic control is able to gain control for women in otherareas of society. K. Cruel upon the warpath, he himself expected no quarter if captured and was prepared to suffer with equanimity the same tortures that he had meted out to prisoners in the past.[3] Where religion and the supernatural are concerned, the Iroquoisacknowledged the existence of many supernatural beings. The invariable answer discovered by the members of the Whipple Committee in its search for a solution to the Indian problem was: exterminate the tribe and preserve the individual; make citizens of them and divide their land in severalty.[11] The Iroquois were quite an unusual, almost "model" people in the waythey lived their lifestyle, shared their power between male and female, andinfluenced government policy. Iroquois Women: The Balance of Power. They were able to select Council Elders andinfluence their decisions once appointed. However, theyconsidered there to be two major forces in the universes, the famous "TwinBoys": Creator, or Upholder of the Skies was the Good Twin, who had brought forth all the good things upon the earth--the cultivated plants, rivers, animals and man. The Iroquois women, however, enjoyed such use ofpower that they were able to select which Elders would ascend to power.Once selected for eligibility, these Elders could be impeached by theIroquois women if they did not act as they should in office. The Whipple Committee was appointed to study and investigate theIndian problem. These Indians numbered 5,5 , and materially, politicallyand militarily their culture was the most advanced in the EasternWoodlands.[1] The Iroquois conceived of themselves as living in a metaphorical"longhouse" in which each nation had a role. They had no real marriage at all in the eyes of some Europeans. [12]Jennings, 85. K. For example, the Mohawksguarded the eastern door. The Iroquois were a branch of North American Indians who belonged tothe Hokan-Siouan linguistic family. By the 18 s, the "Indian problem" hadgone too far as far as U.S. The Evil Twin, of Flint, had created the poisonous plants, monstrous animals and all sorts of impediments upon the earth.[4]The Good Twin would come to be called the "Great Spirit" by the white men. Theyconsidered this rank superstition, unable to understand that these mythsmay have been merely a metaphor for some physical or natural phenomenonthat had occurred. As noted byJudith K. Brown, Iroquois Women: The Balance of Power (New York,197 ), xvi. Many Mohawks, forexample, have become structural steel workers. The men of the village frequently occupied their leisure hours with athletics, hatchet throwing, and other amusements that would sharpen the eye, harden the muscle, and preserve the skill of the warrior and hunter. T. [7]Ibid. These womenwere primitive, unsophisticated and faith-oriented more than logic-based.Yet they shared more control in their society with men, and it is largelybecause they were invaluable in their position as economic (food supplies)holders. [4]Ibid., 11. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.