1. The People of the Longhouse Native American Iroquois Nation Five Tribes Seneca, Cayuga, Onodaga, Oneida, Mohawk

2. Iroquois Native Americans The Iroquois called themselves “Haudenosaunee” or “People who build a house.” The longhouse was a type of building the Iroquois used to live in It was more than just a building It was a metaphor that represented a way of life for the Iroquois

3. The Longhouse The longhouse was a symbol of how the Iroquois governed themselves The Iroquois was a Nation of five tribes who were also considered “extended families” The Seneca, Cayuga, Onodaga, Oneida, and Mohawk were all a part of the Iroquois Nation

4. The Longhouse The longhouse was the basic unit of the Iroquois society It symbolized the idea of being together as one community The longhouse roof represented what the people called “Common Law” or “The Great Law”

5. The Longhouse The Iroquois imagined an invisible longhouse stretching across the land with the ends of the longhouse being occupied by the Seneca and the other end occupied by the Mohawk The Oneida, Cayuga, and Onodaga occupied the middle

6. The Longhouse In reality, the longhouse was part of the Iroquois’ domestic architecture Essentially, it was a lodge where family members joined together As the family grew the longhouse would be added onto, extending and growing longer in size

7. The Longhouse

8. Symbolically, the longhouse also represented the entire Iroquois Nation For them, it housed all of the Nation tribes who live on the land together which we call the state of New York today. Symbolically, the longhouse would extend from the beginning; where the sun rises in the East to where it sets in the West The longhouse was a symbol of peace and the Iroquois will all become united and strong together.

9. The Longhouse Iroquois women were responsible for cultivating the earth They would scrape the dirt into small hills and bury three seeds (corn, bean, and squash) These three plants grew by working together The corn provided the stalk for the bean to climb The squash spread out on the ground and provided shade and kept weeds away for the corn and bean

10. The Iroquois

11. The Longhouse The Iroquois celebrated many rituals or ceremonies This activity reinforced the feeling of community Examples of celebrations include the Strawberry Festival in the Spring and the Harvest Ceremony in the Fall Special attention was always paid to the time of Thanksgiving in November

12. The Iroquois It was a special time when the Iroquois recognized the land and how indebted they were to its resources (water, sunlight, seeds, etc.) The Iroquois never took the land’s resources for granted They were a humble people who were very thankful for what the earth gave them

13. The Iroquois