1. Teaching American History
IROQUOIS INDIANS
Teaching American History
Slide 1
Use this slide to introduce and have the students to make predicts about the picture.
Guide the students in prediction that focus on the Iroquois Indian's location, culture, shelter, food, and form of government.
Inez Cutler

2. H0W DID NATIVE AMERICANS COME TO THE FOREST?
WHAT DO YOU KNOW?
WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO KNOW?
WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED?
Click On the media clip to preview this video.
Slide 2
Here you will show students the video.
Stop video when teachable moment occur.
Have students construct a KWL chart to help them express what background knowledge they have, what they would like to learn, and what they have learned.

3. Iroquois Population Slide 3
Talk to students about the importance of using graphic organizers to help them with organizing their thoughts, time periods, people, and places.
Talk to students about increasing and decreasing of the Iroquois people at different time periods.

4. Iroquois Indians- LOCATION
Archeological evidence indicates the Iroquois lived in upstate New York before the Europeans arrived.
The Onondaga were the first of the Iroquois tribes that can be positively identified in New York.
This seem to have begun after the merger of two villages sometime between 1450 and 1475.
Slide 4
Utilize classroom maps to help students locate the beginning of tribes existence.
An extension activity of this slide is to have students construct individual maps of tribes location.

5. Iroquois Indians – LOCATION (cont’d)
Slide 5
Have students read map key and give short discussion of he various locations of the different tribes. For this slide focus in Iroquois’s location.

6. Who are the Iroquois?
The Iroquois people were named by their enemies. They were given the name (Irinakhoiw) meaning “rattlesnakes”. Later changing to the Iroquois.
The largest make up of the Iroquois people was the Mohawks. The Mohawks totaled to more than 35,000 members.
Slide 6
Talk to the students about meanings of names.
Have students to research the meaning of their names.
Extension lesson is to research various tribes of the Iroquois Indians.

7. Who are the Iroquois (cont’d)
The Iroquois women were a major part of the Indian culture. The Iroquois tribes were divided into three clans, the bear, turtle, and the wolf. These tribes were all headed by a clan mother.
Slide 7
Guide a short discussion about different cultures.
Have students complete a Venn diagram and compare the Iroquois women responsibilities to American women of today.

8. Iroquois – CULTURE
The Iroquois people custom was to follow the woman heritage line to determine kinship.
This is where family social structure is determined by the mothers’ family line. Women also owned all property.
Slide 8
Continue class discussion and comparisons on the differences in cultures.
Make inquires of different cultural backgrounds of students in your class. Take advantage of every chance to tie in real life situations with the textbook and different resources.

9. Iroquois – CULTURE (cont’d)
Agriculture provided most of their diet: corn, beans, squash, and fish. They worshiped and celebrated the importance of the agriculture in their culture by their six annual festivals to celebrate their harvest.
Slide 9
Discuss types of food eaten by the Iroquois Indians.
Have student create and share a menu in the home life of their culture.
Define and discuss the differences in caring for crops. Excellent time to integrate across the curriculum in other disciplines such as Science, and Math. Analyzing how much water, how many seeds and plants.

10. Shelter
When the Iroquois people married, the husband moved into the long house with the wife, and the children became part of her clan.
Slide 10
Discuss the differences in leadership in the Iroquois’s home to that of students’ home in the classroom.
Have students compare immediate family structure and extended family.

11. The Longhouse
IT IS A LONG WOODEN BUILDING IN WHICH SEVERAL IROQUOIS FAMILIES LIVE TOGETHER.
IT WAS MADE OF ELM BARK AND HAD A LARGE DOOR AT EACH END.
Slide 11
Have students draw a picture of their home and tell how their home differs from the Iroquois’ home.
As a homework assignment, have students ask family members to help them draw and label their home. Then have the students make a list of the materials used to construct the home.

12. Inside the Longhouse
The longhouse could be over 200’ in length. It could house many people.
Inside the longhouse the Ir0quois kept all of the necessities for their clan.
These villages were very stable, unless interrupted and moved for defense purposes.
Slide 12
Have students name the different things they see that are found
in a longhouse.
Place students in small groups and have them measure the classroom.
Then have the students figure out how many classroom would measure
the same or close to an Iroquois’s Longhouse.

13. LEGENDS AND STORIES
THE IROQUOIS OFTEN USED LEGENDS OR STORIES HANDED DOWN OVER TIME, TO EXPLAIN THE PAST.
IROQUOIS MYTHS and LEGENDS
Slide 13
Define and discuss what are legends and stories.
In a small discussion, have students discuss how do their culture explain the past.
Guide students through an extension of myths and legends by clicking and browsing the Internet with the hyperlink.
Have the students write a short myth or legend they have heard from parents, grandparents or some family friend.

14. Dekanawida’s Legend “PEACE AND UNITY”
THE IROQUOIS MUST COME TOGETHER BY TAKING HOLD OF EACH OTHER’S HANDS SO FIRMLY AND FORMING A CIRCLE SO STRONG THAT IF A TREE SHOULD FALL UPON IT, IT COULD NOT SHAKE NOT BREAK IT, SO THAT OUR PEOPLE AND GRANDCHILDREN SHALL REMAIN IN THE CIRCLE IN SECURITY, PEACE, AND HAPPINESS.
Slide 14
Define and discuss new vocabulary terms that students may not understand.
Have students read this legend and re tell the legend in their own words.

15. Iroquois League
MEN FROM EACH OF THE FIVE TRIBES SERVED ON THE GREAT COUNCIL.
THE OLDEST WOMEN OF EACH TRIBE CHOSE THE COUNCIL MEMBERS.
EACH MEMBER HAD ONE VOTE.
ALL HAD TO AGREE BEFORE ANYTHING WAS DONE.
Slide 15
Discuss and define new vocabulary terms.
Have students compare the establishing of the Iroquois government to their government.
Excellent time to integrate across the curriculum by discussing the process of voting.
Have students define and compare what is a council, who can serve, and what are their responsibilities for the Iroquois and Americans today.

16. The Five Nations
IN 1570 THE MEMBERS OF THE IROQUOIS FORMED A CONFEDERATION OR LOOSE GROUPS OF GOVERNMENTS.
EACH TRIBE GOVERNED ITSELF.
MATTERS THAT WERE IMPORTANT TO ALL, SUCH AS WAR AND TRADE WERE DECIDE BY A GREAT COUNCIL.
Slide 16
Compare the different forms of government for the Iroquois and Americans today.
Discuss war and trade procedures for Iroquois and Americans today.

17. The Iroquois Flag and the Hiawatha Wampum Belt
The Hiawatha wampum belt is comprised of thirty eight rows.
A heart as a great tree is located in the center.
On both sides of the tree there are two squares, all are connected with the heart by white rows of wampum.
The belt is the emblem of unity among the Five Nations.
Slide 17
Guide students is a class discussion on the importance of recognizing and respecting flags.
Discussion the Iroquois flag and Wampum Belt.
Have students research, draw, and define what the parts of the United States of American flag represents and symbolizes.

18. United We Stand Divided We FALL
The most important part
of the Iroquois people
was their ability to be united.
This is how the Iroquois won many battles against other tribes as well as outside forces.
Slide 18
Discuss what is unity, and have individual students raise their hands and give an example of an action that shows unity in the classroom, at home, in the city, church, community, or in their country.

19. “SHOULD NOT KILL ONE ANOTHER!”
LAW of the LAND
The Iroquois were only required to maintain peace with one another.
The primary law of the land was called the Kainerekowa- which eloquently stated….
Iroquois
“SHOULD NOT KILL ONE ANOTHER!”
Slide 19
Define and discuss what is a LAW.
Discuss the term “primary”.
Discuss what are the laws that governs thee United
States.
Extension activity: Have students write and illustrate laws established in their homes.

20. Working The Iroquois people were no strangers to hard work.
They were hired to help during the construction of the Dominion Bridge in Montreal, and they showed no fear of heights.
They have continued to being part of the construction of almost every major bridge or skyscraper.
Slide 20
Define and discuss terms such as construction, bridge, skyscraper, height.
Discuss work habits and requirements for construction workers and other jobs.
Locate and discuss the Dominion Bridge in Montreal.
Use a map to show location of bridge.

21. References http://www.totatsga.org/iro.html
Harcourt Brace (2000). Early united states.
Slide 21
Define what references means.
Discuss the importance of citing work to give recognition to the author of the work.
Discuss the importance of checking writing and typing site information correctly.