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What looks like a shot I may have taken outside on a hill is actually only a small part of an awesome large scale miniature diorama of an Iroquois village. It is another childhood favorite exhibit at The New York State Museum in Albany, New York. I absolutely loved and found it fascinating as a kid (and still do as an adult), all of the amazing miniature details in this educational diorama.
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The Iroquois people (Self named Haudenosaunee - People of the Longhouse), are made up of several different Iroquois speaking tribes. Sometime between 1570-1600 five of theses tribes formed a common council made up of clan and village chiefs. This was done in order for all tribes involved to have; "Peace, civil authority, righteousness, and The Great Law". Defense against other enemy nations was also a factor. The Iroquois Five Nations or League as it was also known was made up by the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca tribes. Their territory was mostly throughout central and upper NewYork. Below is of map of the Iroquois Five Nations.
(Image source - Wikimedia Commons)
The Iroquois Five Nations was very well organized and is concidered one of the oldest participatory democracies in the world, and in some ways, is still in existence today. Each village and clan chief on the council had one vote on decisions concerning intertribal civil affairs. Decisions had to be unanimous so compromise between the different nations was integral. Over a century later in 1722 the Tuscarora joined the League and it became Six Nations. Below is a map of the Six Nations.
(Image source Wikimedia Commons)
Later after the Revolutionary War as the colonies became The United States, the Onondaga, Seneca, Tuscarora, and some Oneida stayed in central and upper New York on reservations. The Mohawk and Cayuga moved on and settled in Canada.
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The Iroquois were agricultural and lived in permanent villages. They lived communally in large structures called longhouses. While some were as large as 300ft long, the average longhouse was 60ft long, 16ft wide, and 15ft high. The longhouses were framed with bent saplings and covered with large pieces of bark. Several families related through the maternal line lived in each longhouse. Each family had their own compartment with sleeping areas and storage, with a curtain made of animal skin that could be closed for privacy. The family areas ran along both sides of the longhouses, with the two families across from each other sharing a communal cooking fire. There was a hole in the top of the longhouse to let smoke escape that could be covered with a piece of bark using a long pole.
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The Iroquois grew different crops such as tobacco, pumpkins, and melons, but the main crops were the "Three Sisters" which are corn, beans and squash. The woman of the village were responsible for all of the agriculture. Men were responsible for hunting animals for meat and skins such as; deer, elk, moose and bears. They would also hunt game like geese, ducks, pigeons, and rabbits. The men of the village would also catch various fresh water fish using spears, nets and other methods.
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Iroquois woman would also forage for natural occurring berries like blackberries, blueberries and strawberries. Maple trees were also tapped, the sap then boiled down to syrup then dried in molds to make sweet candies for the children of the village.
I hope you have enjoyed the diorama (My photos really don't do it justice..), and some of the history of the Iroquois people, and have found both as interesting as I do. Take care and thanks for looking in! :)
All information was found on these sites:
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Iroquois-Confederacy
http://nativeamericannetroots.net/diary/1081
https://theiroquoisstory.weebly.com/iroquois-food-and-agriculture.html