Before Influence
Influence
During the American Revolution, the Iroquois tribe split. The Oneida and the Tuscarora sided with the colonists, while the other nations supported the British. Despite the controversy in siding with the British, if the British won the war, the Haudenosaunee people were promised their land. Before this, the Iroquois had contact with the French in the early 17th century. The French attacked the Iroquois in 1609. This contact provided the tribe with improved tools and military tactics, but introduced European diseases such as measles, smallpox and influenza {2}.
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An illustration of the Iroquois people fighting in the American Revolutionary War.
[Our Colonial History from the DIscovery of America to the close of the Revolution. Oscar Gerson. 1915. Public Domain.] |
Present
The Haudenosaunee Flag with five symbols to represent each tribe.
[Iroquois flag, by Maqtewékpaqtism. 2001. Used under Fair Use.] |
Following the war, the Iroquois nation was intensely divided, and their ties to one another were severed. The tribe and its government was in shambles, and little support was given from the Americans or the British. The Treaty of Paris was signed in 1783. In response to the treaty however, no aid was given to the Haudenosaunee nation. The Iroquois people were left with nothing and were forced off of their native lands by the Americans. They currently reside on the Tonawanda Reservation in New York. The tribe has since struggled to keep their autonomy and culture {3}.
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Sources
{1} “The Iroquois Tribes.” ushistory.org. U.S. History Online Textbook. Last modified 2019. Accessed November 17, 2019. http://www.ushistory.org/us/1d.asp.
{2} Hall, Loretta. “Iroquois Confederacy.” Every Culture. Advameg, Inc. Accessed November 17, 2019. https://www.everyculture.com/multi/Ha-La/Iroquois-Confederacy.html.
{3} “Telling All Americans' Stories: Introduction to Indigenous Heritage.” NPA.org. National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. Last modified February 9, 2017. Accessed November 17, 2019. https://www.nps.gov/articles/taas-indigenousheritage-intro.htm
{2} Hall, Loretta. “Iroquois Confederacy.” Every Culture. Advameg, Inc. Accessed November 17, 2019. https://www.everyculture.com/multi/Ha-La/Iroquois-Confederacy.html.
{3} “Telling All Americans' Stories: Introduction to Indigenous Heritage.” NPA.org. National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. Last modified February 9, 2017. Accessed November 17, 2019. https://www.nps.gov/articles/taas-indigenousheritage-intro.htm
INDIGENOUS PEOPLE THROUGHOUT THE TRANSATLANTIC WORLD
Created by Clark, McGannon, Andrew, Bates and Fulton - CC 2019