Native American Encyclopedia Indian Wars To Massachuset
6 Iowa Iowa also called Ioway are Native Americans who once lived north of the Great Lakes They were part of the Winnebago people along with the Missouri the Omaha the Oto and the Ponca Sometime in the early 1600s the Iowa moved south from the Great Lakes woodland region and settled along the Iowa and Mississippi rivers They came to live on the plains in present-day Iowa northern Missouri and southern Minnesota On the plains the Iowa men hunted and the women farmed Their housing reflected their woodland and plains lifestyles Throughout the year they lived in different homes including bark houses which are similar to longhouses or wigwams wattle-and-daub houses earth lodges and tepees By 1836 they had lost their lands in Iowa and Missouri and moved onto reservations See also earth lodge and longhouse Iroquois also known as Haudenosaunee meaning people of the longhouse refers to six Native American nations that speak dialects of the Iroquoian language group These nations are the Mohawk Seneca Oneida Onondaga Cayuga and Tuscarora The Huron an enemy of these nations called them an insulting term meaning black snakes The name Iroquois is the French interpretation of the Huron insult The warriors of the Iroquois nations fought with some of the eastern tribes including the Wabanaki the Algonquin the Ojibwe and the Mohican bands With their friendly neighbors they traded corn tobacco and woodcrafts in exchange for furs and shells The earth lodge was home for many tribes of the Great Plains They built the floor of the earth lodge partly underground and covered the exterior with sod It was much larger than a tepee and could house a large family Led by the Iroquois leader Joseph Brant most Native Americans sided with the British during the American Revolution hoping to save their land from colonial expansion
FACT FILE Language Each Iroquois tribe has its own language These languages are related Mohawk was chosen as the language spoken at council meetings and religious ceremonies The red areas on the map show distribution of the Iroquoian languages before the arrival of nonnatives Location The original homeland of the Iroquois was in upstate New York between the Adirondack Mountains and Niagara Falls They now live in New York Wisconsin and Oklahoma and in Canada in southern Quebec and southern Ontario Housing The Iroquois lived in villages of longhouses Diet The tribe grew corn beans squash and wild berries They hunted deer elk and fish Dishes included cornbread soups and stews cooked on stone hearths See also clans and longhouse Iroquois Confederacy 7 Iroquois Confederacy also known as Iroquois League refers to the alliance of the Mohawk Seneca Oneida Onondaga Cayuga and Tuscarora Originally governed by the Iroquois Great Council the confederacy consisted of eight to fourteen chiefs from each of the six nations They met to discuss issues that were important to all such as wars government and religion The Iroquois Confederacy was an example of democracy for America’s founding fathers The Iroquois Confederacy still meets today However individual Iroquois tribal governments now decide most political issues See also wampum belt The flag of the Iroquois is based upon Hiawatha’s Belt made 400 years ago from wampum beads Both the belt and the flag symbolize the five original tribes of the Iroquois Confederacy words to know confederacy kun-FED-er-ah-see people or groups of people joined together with a common cause democracy dim-AH-krah-see a form of government in which all people have equal rights and leaders are elected
8 Ishi Ishi about 1860 1916 was the last surviving member of the Yahi Native Americans from the Yana tribe of northern California Settlers massacred the Yahi during the late 1800s Ishi and a few of his people survived by hiding from the settlers By 1908 all of Ishi’s family had died In 1911 he entered the town of Oroville North Carolina alone and hungry The Museum of Anthropology at the University of California gave him a home and in return Ishi shared his ways with anthropologists He lived there until he died five years later from tuberculosis Ishi’s life story has been portrayed in books and television films Isparhecher 1829-1902 was a tribal chief of the Creek Nation born in Alabama He lost both parents on the Trail of Tears He fought in the American Civil War and participated in Creek politics He became a leader of Creek conservatives and in 1882 led an attempt to overthrow his tribe’s government This effort failed but Isparhecher continued to participate in Creek politics and spent his life trying to prevent the loss of Creek lands to U S settlement Ivory is a hard white material that is part of the teeth and tusks of animals such as the elephant hippopotamus and walrus Native Peoples of the Arctic Culture Area have been carving the ivory of walrus tusks since prehistoric times They usually carve ivory into knives and small art sculptures Killing animals for ivory is now against the law in many countries The Inuit however are still allowed to hunt walruses though they do have a certain number or quota of animals they can kill each year See also Aleut Arctic Culture Area and Inuit The Inuit carved ivory sculptures of things important to them such as arctic animals hunters masks and kayaks
jade 9 Jackson Helen Hunt 1830-1885 was one of the first American authors who wrote about the hardships of Native Americans Inspired by Ponca Chief Standing Bear’s speech about the forced removal of the Ponca she dedicated herself to helping Native Americans In 1882 Jackson became the first female Special Commissioner of Indian Affairs In this position she investigated the United States broken treaties and unfair treatment of Native Americans Through her books A Century of Dishonor and Ramona she intended to improve the United States policy toward Native Americans Jade is a gemstone used by Native Americans for making jewelry Jade is often green but also can be blue black violet white yellow or reddish-brown Some Native American tribes consider jade and other gemstones including turquoise opal and onyx to be sacred Jade is a hard material that can be carved into delicate shapes In addition to jewelry Native Americans have used jade to make ax heads knives and other weapons After only one year in office President Andrew Jackson pushed the Indian Removal Act into law Jackson Andrew 1767-1845 was the seventh president of the United States Prior to his presidency he served in the U S military during the First Seminole War and the Battle of Horseshoe Bend Once President he signed the Indian Removal Act into law This law gave the United States the authority to forcibly remove Native peoples from their national homelands During Jackson’s presidency the government forced more than 45,000 Native Americans from their lands One of these removals known as the Trail of Tears resulted in the death of more than 4,000 Cherokees See also Indian Removal Act and Trail of Tears
