Best Regards, Lucas L. Lopez Director of Iroquois Confederacy for GatorMUN XII

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Prosper Foster
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1 Hello Delegates: Welcome to the Iroquois Confederacy, by far the most powerful and most influential Native American tribe (or group of tribes) in the northeast of North America. In this committee, you will be the governing body of the Iroquois, starting in the 17 th century. The Iroquois had an amazing system of governance and some historians say they influenced the writers of the United States Constitution. I comprised the committee of chiefs (Principal and war) from each tribe and a few European diplomats/military aids to try to encompass all the tribes and governments. Now onto a little bit about me, the Director of the Iroquois Confederacy. My name is Lucas Lopez. I am a second year Economics (BS) and History (LA) major, on the Pre-Law track. I have always had a passion for American history and after a class I took last year and further research, I thought of this committee. The biggest end goal of this committee is for you, the delegate, to learn about a part of American history that isn t always talked about in depth in high school history classes and plays such an important part of American history. I chose the Iroquois specifically to show that many Native American-Indian tribes were sophisticated, civilized and had whole systems of government, and that Native American-Indian tribes were not all horse riding, big-feathered hair dress wearing, buffalo hunting savages. As a director, I love creative, outside of the box ideas that are rooted in the history of the time. I have had both high school and college Model UN experience and I can tell you that creativity is key. I hope that you all have an amazing time at GatorMUN and thoroughly enjoy being a part of a very important part of American history. My crisis coordinator is Rebecca Birkholtz, a third year International Studies and Political Science double major with a minor in religion and Arabic. She shares my passion for American history and is equally excited to be a part of such a unique committee that covers such an important part of our history. A little fun fact about the wonderful Rebecca is that she is from Maryland and hopes to one-day work for the State Department. If there any questions for me, in regards to positions, background guide, or anything really, please do not hesitate to the GatorMUN secretariat and I will try my best to answer your questions. Thank you and Go Gators! Best Regards, Lucas L. Lopez Director of Iroquois Confederacy for GatorMUN XII 1

Iroquois Confederacy Background Guide History and Practices of the Iroquois Confederacy When the French, Dutch, and English began to penetrate present-day upstate New York in the early seventeenth

2 Iroquois Confederacy Background Guide History and Practices of the Iroquois Confederacy When the French, Dutch, and English began to penetrate present-day upstate New York in the early seventeenth century, they encountered the remarkable political system of the Hodenosaunee or People of the Longhouse. Five Iroquoian nations (in the 18 th century it became six) - the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, and Senecas - occupied the region form the Hudson valley in the east to Lake Erie in the west and cooperated in a League that preserved peace among its members and exerted tremendous influence upon its neighbors. 1 This League of the Iroquois, as the Europeans called it, played a dominant role in the history of northeastern North America before the American Revolution, and Iroquois power and foreign policies shaped colonial, intertribal, and international relations. Despite the devastating impact of the colonial and revolutionary wars, the League continues to function to this day and is one of the oldest political bodies in North America. 2 See map below to see how their tribes were split geographically. 1 Iroquois Confederacy, Encyclopedia Britannica 2 Colin G. Calloway, First Peoples: A Documentary Survey of American Indian History, Chapter 1 2

3 History remains uncertain as to exactly when the League was formed, but most scholars estimate that it took place about the year The League that united the Iroquois in peace was forged in a time of violence. Before its formation, the traditions say, Iroquois people lived in a state of constant warfare. Warriors fought to avenge the deaths of relatives in an endless cycle of killing and retribution. An Onondaga chieftain, who became known later as Hayenwatha or Hiawatha, lost three daughters. The mourning war culture of the Iroquois demanded that Hiawatha assuage his grief and appease the spirits of his loved ones by taking the life of an enemy; instead, he chose to break the cycle of vengeance and violence and create a new world order for the Iroquois. The stories tell that Hiawatha was wandering the forests in grief and met a Huron called Deganawidah who came from north of Lake Ontario. He eased Hiawatha s grief with words of condolence and beads of wampum, symbolically wiping his tears and restoring his reason. The rituals became part of the protocol of the Iroquois League and of their diplomatic dealings with outsiders: healing words, not bloody deeds, assuaged grief and redressed wrongs. Deganawidah and Hiawatha composed the laws of great peace that would restore order and preserve harmony in Iroquois country. Recording each law on a string of wampum so that future generations would remember and observe them, the two set out to carry their message to the warring tribes. 3 They traveled from village to village, teaching the laws of peace and persuading people to replace war and weapons with words and wampum. The Mohawks agreed, then the Oneidas, Cayugas, and Senecas. The fierce Tadodaho resisted, but Hiawatha is said to have combed the snakes from his hair to ease his torment. Finally Tadodaho accepted the pact. Onondage became the site of the League s central council fire and Tadodaho the fire s guardian. Deganawidah placed deer antlers on the heads of the chiefs of the Five Nations as symbols of their authority. 4 The Five Nations agreed to stop fighting among them and unite in common defense. The individual tribes retained control of their own affairs at the local level but acted through the Grand Council at Onondaga in matters of common concern. The League reflected the traditional Iroquois longhouse, sheltering many families, each with their own fire but who from time to time gathered around a central fire and functioned as one family. Like a longhouse, the League could be expanded to incorporate new members, as occurred early in the eighteenth century when the 3 Ibid. 4 Ibid. 3

4 Tuscaroras migrated from the South and joined the League as a junior, sixth nation. The Mohawks, who defended the eastern borders of the Iroquois homeland, were designated the Keepers of the Eastern Door; the Senecas were Keepers of the Western Door; the Onondagas were Keepers of the Council Fire. Iroquois people likened their League to a bundle of arrows, symbolizing the strength they achieved in unity: single arrows could be snapped easily but a bundle was difficult to break. The Five Nations saw their League as a great tree providing shelter to other people who would follow its roots of peace and take their place in its shade. They adopted so many captives and took in so many refugees that by the seventeenth century French observers estimated there were more non-iroquois than Iroquois in Iroquois country. Though the League functioned to make and preserve peace, it also freed Iroquois warriors from internal conflict, and with new strength in unity they were able to turn their attentions to outside enemies. Historian Daniel Richter says, by 1600 the cultural ideal of peace and the everyday reality of war had long been intertwined. 5 European invasion unleashed new forces that threw Indian peoples into increasing competition and conflict with rival colonial powers and with other Indian tribes. Formed to end war, the League of Peace found itself participating in wars on a scale previously unknown to Native North America. Iroquois power made the Six Nations key players in the contests for North America. The firmness of this League, the great extent of land it claims, the number of great warriors it produces, and the undaunted courage and skill which distinguish the members of it, wrote English trader John Long, all conspire to prove the good policy of an alliance with them. 6 The League was able to negotiate from a position of strength and to pursue a path of formal neutrality in the wars of the eighteenth century. The American Revolution imposed strains the confederacy could not withstand and produced civil war in Iroquois country, but the ideas and ideals of the League survived. 5 Ibid. 6 Ibid. Chapter 2 4

European Relations with the Iroquois From the beginning of European expansion into northeast North America, the Iroquois was a force to be reckoned with.

5 European Relations with the Iroquois From the beginning of European expansion into northeast North America, the Iroquois was a force to be reckoned with. However, where one really sees contact escalating, in regards to war and trade, is when Samuel de Champlain founded Quebec City in Champlain explored the lake that bears his name and helped put France on the path to an empire built on the fur trade. However, the Indians played crucial roles in establishing the patterns and terms of that empire. Champlain began a policy of sending young traders into Indian villages to learn Native languages and ways of living. He reportedly told a gathering of Indians that our young men will 5

6 marry your daughters, and we shall be one people. He made alliances with the Algonquins, Montagnais, and Hurons to gain access to rich fur territories farther west; the Indians pursued alliances with the French as a means of securing European trade goods. However, this cooperation threatened the powerful Iroquois of upstate New York. 7 Beginning in 1609, the League engaged in the Beaver Wars, a decades-long series of wars, against the French, their Huron allies, and other neighboring tribes, including the Petun, Erie, and Susquehannock. Amongst many historians, these wars are viewed as a way the Iroquois tried to control the lucrative fur trade in order to maintain trade with Europeans. This trade relationship with the Europeans was important to the Iroquois so that they can access their goods (i.e. guns) on which they had become dependent. In furtherance of their prosperity and power, there were a long series of battles and wars between the Iroquois and local tribes to secure the fur trade in the region. For example, in 1628, the Mohawk defeated the Mahican to gain a monopoly in the fur trade with the Dutch at Fort Orange (present-day Albany). The Mohawk, after the battles, barred trade between northern native people and the Dutch. 8 Before the peace treaty with French of 1701 (and the French and Indian War), the Iroquois heavily fought the French and had the Dutch as a helpful ally, because of their supply of guns to the 5 tribes. After the 1701 peace treaty with the French, the Iroquois remained mostly neutral. They were still involved, however, in planned attacks against the French, during the War of Spanish Succession. During the North American theatre of the Seven Years War (otherwise known as the French and Indian War), the Iroquois sided with the British against the French and the Algonquians (the Iroquois' traditional enemy). Siding with the British seemed like the best choice for the Iroquois so that they would gain favors after the war. After the British won the war, in order to keep up their side of the deal, the British government issued the Royal Proclamation of 1763, forbidding white settlements beyond the Appalachian Mountains. 9 The Royal Proclamation of 1763 is always discussed in American History as one of the reasons for the American Revolution so it should be very familiar to the AP US History student. 7 Ibid. Chapter 2 8 Richter, D. The Ordeal of the Longhouse: The Peoples of the Iroquois League in the Era of European Colonization, Chapel-Hill: University of North Carolina Press, Ibid. 6

7 What will you experience in committee? Initially, we will most likely begin in the mid-1600s. However, for the sake of committee, we will operate under the assumption that the Tuscarora joined the Iroquois early in the 1600s, not in the 1700s. Different events to prepare for would be warfare with other tribes, fur trade alliances, European contacts, and wars that happened in the region throughout that time. Individual research is highly encouraged, especially in the specific ways that Iroquois conducted every day life. In other words, one should prepare with research in agricultural tactics, roles of specific clans and families, religious ceremonies, war tactics before and after European arrival. Remember: you are the governing body of this nation, so anything that a nation would ve experienced during the time is up for grabs. In regards to parliamentary procedures, there will be no specific rules or regulations that change regular parliamentary procedure. If there is ever a change in parliamentary procedure, it would be because of the chair s discretion or the delegates vote on a change. Otherwise, we would still have regular rules for moderated/un-moderated caucuses, voting rules, and any other specific parliamentary procedure. 7

8 Iroquois Confederacy Positions Mohawk Principal Chief John Deseronto Mohawk War Chief Joseph Brant (Thayendanegea) Onondaga Principal Chief Canasatego Onondaga War Chief Oundiaga Oneida Principal Chief Shenendoah Oneida War Chief Oskanondonha (Pine Tree) Cayuga Principal Chief Ojitgwa Sowas Cayuga War Chief Deknihogak Seneca Principal Chief Handsome Lake Seneca War Chief Little Beard Tuscarora Principal Chief Eceeh Goserheh Tuscarora War Chief Aseh Wedosh Marquise Johannes Van Hoensbroeck- Dutch Military Liaison to the Iroquois The goal with each of the positions here were to have relatively equal powers within each perspective tribe/nation. This is why each tribe has both a Principal Chief and War Chief. The Principal Chief can be compared to a secretary of the interior in that he/she is the master of domestic issues within the tribe. Examples of issues that fall under the power of the Principal Chief include allocating supplies, interior press updates, famine, or speaking to the individual clans. 8

9 The War Chief, alternatively, serves similarly to a secretary of defense for each tribe. Each War Chief is in charge of his/her tribe s military actions. Some of the chief names aren t necessarily historically accurate so it is up to you the delegate, to develop a background story, family history, etc, if you see fit. The only position that is not a chief is Marquise Johannes Van Hoensbroeck. A member of the noble family that historically held a great interest in the Dutch New World colonies, Marquise has always held a special attachment to America and the Dutch colonial interests there. Currently the military liaison, Van Hoensbroeck coordinates flow of military goods to the Iroquois along with commanding Dutch detachments in the Northeast. The Dutch have had a long relationship with the Iroquois, and thus the latter invited Van Hoensbroeck to sit in on their central council fire, with voting power and all. Works Cited "Iroquois Confederacy American Indian Confederation." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 31 Oct Calloway, Colin G. "Chapter 1-2." First Peoples: A Documentary Survey of American Indian History. N.p.: Bedford, N. pag. Print. Richter, Daniel. The Ordeal of the Longhouse: The Peoples of the Iroquois League in the Era of European Colonization. Chapel-Hill: U of North Carolina, Print. 9

Topic Page: Iroquois. https://search.credoreference.com/content/topic/iroquois. Definition: Iroquois from Merriam-Webster's Collegiate(R) Dictionary

Topic Page: Iroquois. https://search.credoreference.com/content/topic/iroquois. Definition: Iroquois from Merriam-Webster's Collegiate(R) Dictionary Topic Page: Iroquois Definition: Iroquois from Merriam-Webster's Collegiate(R) Dictionary pronunciation (1666) 1 pl : an American Indian confederacy orig. of New York consisting of the Cayuga, Mohawk,