Iroquois Confederacy
Haudenosaunee political alliance
The Iroquois Confederacy was an alliance of Native American nations—originally five, later six—in the northeastern woodlands of North America.
Also called the Haudenosaunee or the League of Five Nations, it united the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca peoples under a shared constitution and council.
The Tuscarora joined in the early 18th century.
The confederacy's political structure, emphasizing consensus and representative governance, influenced early American democratic thought.
Native confederacy's faith tradition
- HiawathaNative American statesman-figure
- wampumIndigenous American bead currency
- clansRelated family groups
- matrilinealDescended through maternal line
clan mothers · Three Sisters · corn · beans · squash · lacrosse · chiefs · oral tradition
Iroquoian nation from Northeast
- OnondagaIroquois confederacy's central nation
- CayugaHaudenosaunee confederacy member
- SenecaStoic moralist of Rome
- Six NationsIroquois tribal confederacy
General group agreement
- clan mothersWomen governing family lineages
- federalismDivided governmental authority system
- decentralizedLacking single authority
- participatoryInvolving active contribution
deliberation · representation · autonomy · governance · council fire · chieftainship · decision-making · checks and balances
Control over one's fate
- nationhoodStatus as independent country
- jurisdictionLegal authority's scope
- territoryLand under jurisdiction
- self-governmentRuling oneself independently
recognition · treaty rights · land rights · tribal sovereignty · nation-to-nation · trust relationship · inherent rights · political status
Formal union of parties
- diplomacyNegotiation between nations
- agreementsFormal mutual arrangements
- negotiationDiscussion seeking mutual accord
- colonial powersNations that colonized others
British · French · Dutch · American Revolution · neutrality · broken treaties
Longhouse
Native confederacy's faith tradition
- HiawathaNative American statesman-figure
- wampumIndigenous American bead currency
- clansRelated family groups
matrilineal · clan mothers · Three Sisters · corn · beans · squash · lacrosse · chiefs · oral tradition
Mohawk
Iroquoian nation from Northeast
consensus
General group agreement
- clan mothersWomen governing family lineages
- federalismDivided governmental authority system
- decentralizedLacking single authority
participatory · deliberation · representation · autonomy · governance · council fire · chieftainship · decision-making · checks and balances · bicameral
self-determination
Control over one's fate
- nationhoodStatus as independent country
- jurisdictionLegal authority's scope
- territoryLand under jurisdiction
self-government · recognition · treaty rights · land rights · tribal sovereignty · nation-to-nation · trust relationship · inherent rights · political status · self-rule
alliance
Formal union of parties
- diplomacyNegotiation between nations
- agreementsFormal mutual arrangements
- negotiationDiscussion seeking mutual accord
colonial powers · British · French · Dutch · American Revolution · neutrality · broken treaties
- Native AmericansCherokee, Apache, Navajo, Sioux, Mohawk
- Indigenous CanadaFirst Nations, Metis, Inuit, Cree, Ojibwe
- IroquoisMohawk, Onondaga, Six Nations, Cayuga, Seneca
- New York historyEllis Island, Tammany Hall, Erie Canal, Brooklyn Bridge, Central Park
- Tribal AlliancesSix Nations
- HaudenosauneeMohawk Nation, Cayuga, Onondaga, Mohawk, Seneca