Like all Native American tribes in the continental United States, many aspects of the Mohawk tribe’s culture, social institutions and economy were forever changed after the arrival of Europeans. Dutch, French and British and eventually American interaction and wars would all change the course of Mohawk history.
The Mohawk, or Kahniakenhaka as they call themselves, are part of the Iroquois (Haudenosaunee) Five Nation Confederacy. The Iroquoian name Kahniakenhaka means “people of the flint place.” Their native land stretched from south of the Mohawk valley region in present day New York, east to central Vermont, north to the St. Lawrence Seaway and West bordering the Oneida Nation. The Eastern location of the Mohawk tribe placed them in a prime …show more content…
Lawrence Valley. Others tribes of the Iroquoian family lived in two areas in the present southern states, one in the eastern Carolinas, and the other partly in the western Carolinas, and parts of the States of Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, and the Virginias. The Hurons or Wyandot tribe lived about Lake Simcoe and the St. Lawrence; the Tiononates, west of Lake Ontario and south of the Hurons and in New York; the Erie nation south of Lake Erie; the Canastogas (or Susquehannocks) and their allies, along the Susquehanna; and the Iroquois or Five Nations, in central New …show more content…
The traditional hairstyle of the Mohawk was to pluck the hair out instead of shaving. A square patch was left on the back of the head and formed into three braids. Women wore their hair long, sometimes in a single braid. Clothing was made of elk or deer and other furs and corn husks. In the summer, children would often go naked. Shells, porcupine quills and eventually beads after European arrival were sewn into clothing.
The economy of the Mohawk prior to European arrival included trade with other tribes and raids and war on other tribes. Captives and trade goods were taken during these raids. In the early 17th century, the Dutch set up trading posts near present day Albany. The Mohawk’s secured a near monopoly on the fur trade by preventing other tribes from reaching the
The Mohawk, or Kahniakenhaka as they call themselves, are part of the Iroquois (Haudenosaunee) Five Nation Confederacy. The Iroquoian name Kahniakenhaka means “people of the flint place.” Their native land stretched from south of the Mohawk valley region in present day New York, east to central Vermont, north to the St. Lawrence Seaway and West bordering the Oneida Nation. The Eastern location of the Mohawk tribe placed them in a prime …show more content…
Lawrence Valley. Others tribes of the Iroquoian family lived in two areas in the present southern states, one in the eastern Carolinas, and the other partly in the western Carolinas, and parts of the States of Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, and the Virginias. The Hurons or Wyandot tribe lived about Lake Simcoe and the St. Lawrence; the Tiononates, west of Lake Ontario and south of the Hurons and in New York; the Erie nation south of Lake Erie; the Canastogas (or Susquehannocks) and their allies, along the Susquehanna; and the Iroquois or Five Nations, in central New …show more content…
The traditional hairstyle of the Mohawk was to pluck the hair out instead of shaving. A square patch was left on the back of the head and formed into three braids. Women wore their hair long, sometimes in a single braid. Clothing was made of elk or deer and other furs and corn husks. In the summer, children would often go naked. Shells, porcupine quills and eventually beads after European arrival were sewn into clothing.
The economy of the Mohawk prior to European arrival included trade with other tribes and raids and war on other tribes. Captives and trade goods were taken during these raids. In the early 17th century, the Dutch set up trading posts near present day Albany. The Mohawk’s secured a near monopoly on the fur trade by preventing other tribes from reaching the