Iroquois (Haudenosaunee) Confederacy

The famous Iroquois (Haudenosaunee) Confederacy consisted in the 17th century of five nations: Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca. They occupied the territory south of the St Lawrence and Lake Ontario, from the Richelieu River almost to Lake Erie. Dekanahwideh and Hiawatha were the reputed founders and delivered the words of the “great law” – the constitution of the Five Nations. The final union was the culmination of a long process of consolidation marked by a series of local confederacies, and its purpose was to maintain peace among the member nations. The Huron (Wendat) became the irreconcilable enemies of the Iroquois, who completely destroyed Huronia in 1649. In 1722 the Tuscarora joined the confederation, which then became the Six Nations.