I was totally and completely wrong

This blog post will hopefully serve as both an apology and a correction.

Last Monday, I presented on the "pre-European" history of settlement in the Adirondacks. That is to say that I (attempted to) give insight on the history and culture of the League of Five Nations.

I am afraid that I did a very shallow job of giving cultural insight, and that I may have shared some of my own ignorance about the topic with others.

First of all, the peoples of the five nations do not refer to themselves as the "Iroquois." This is a European version of a perforative that was used to describe them by the Algonquians. Instead, the five nations refer to themselves as the Haudenosaunee, or "People of the Longhouse."

The longhouse was important to these people, not only because it acted as their main dwelling but also because it was a symbol for their cultural structure. The five nations were independent from one another, and yet they shared the same home. They divided up the space, inhabiting specific locations within the same region, while preserving their unique cultures--just in the way that Haudenosaunee families would share a great longhouse, while preserving their individual identities. The five nations shared the Great Longhouse, but each had a place--"a hearth"--which they tended. The Mohawks guarded the front entrance; the Senecas guarded the back. The Cayuga, Onondaga, and Oneida nations fell in the middle.

Image 1. Haudenosaunee Longhouse, with a cutout to display one of the hearths within.
 
Image 2. Geography of the League of Five Nations. Note its resemblance to a longhouse--the way it stretches over a long swath of land, with neatly delineated land settlements.

Another potential inaccuracy: I mentioned that The League of Five Nations emerged in the 15th century, but in fact, the league's origins dates back hundreds or even thousands of years prior. The exact date of its establishment is still debated, but there is a long and winding history of these people that is, in many ways, far more important than any "exact" date. One myth tells the story of a confederacy forming more than 1,000 years ago. The league has been constantly evolving ever since.

Image sources:

Image 1. "Haudenosaunee: "People of the Longhouse"" - Grand River Branch - United Empire Loyalists' Association of Canada. Grand River Branch - United Empire Loyalists' Association of Canada, n.d. Web. 22 Sept. 2014.

Image 2: White, Craig. "The Iroquois Confederacy." Craig White's Literature Courses. University of Houston, Clear Lake, n.d. Web. 22 Sept. 2014.