Iroquois And Pueblo People Differences And Similarities

Pablo Andres Peña

History of American People to 1877

Mr. Huggard

1 April, 2014

Iroquois and Pueblo Indian Similarities and Differences in the Colonization Era

The Pueblo Indians were the descendants of ancient villagers who had been settled in present day Arizona. After developing their settlements for over three thousand years a decline of these communities occurred probably because of drought. The survivors moved to the south and east and in these areas they progressed as they developed their communities and perfected their techniques of desert farming, irrigation systems to provide water for corn, beans, and cotton. They received the name of Pueblo Indians by the Spanish because when they arrived, these groups of Native Americans lived in small villages, or pueblos. The Pueblo Indians of the southwest were the first to be confronted by Europeans and their long lasting invasion. However, around 1680, the Pueblo Indians revolted against the Spanish and they expelled them for about 12 years.

Five main peoples, the Choctaw, Mohawk, Oneida, Cayuga, Seneca, and Onondaga formed the Iroquois. These five groups consolidated the Great League of Peace, which was created to bring stability to the area. The Iroquois were constantly moving geographically, they were known as being strong in battle and that is why they were one of the few Native Indians who survived the colonial invasion. Beginning in 1609, the Iroquois’ were forced to engage in war against the French, their Huron allies and other tribes. These wars were mainly the consequence of the battle of controlling the fur trade and land.

Pueblo Indian peoples were farmers in tradition, but as each of the Pueblo villages were in different demographic areas, the crops that were harvested were different. These crops were mostly corn, beans, and squash and these were stored for two or three years depending on the seasons. The Pueblo people hunted deer and antelope in the mountains and in other villages that were closer to the plains they hunted bison. In all Pueblo Indian societies, rabbit was an abundant source of proteins. The Iroquois on the other hand, had some similarities and differences from the Pueblo Indians in the farming and hunting practices. Iroquois people were farmers, fishers, hunters but their main source of food was through farming. Just like the Pueblo Indians, the Iroquois’ most cultivated crops were corn, beans and squash and they were also stored for later consumption. Concerning hunting, the differences are more notable. The Iroquois hunted mostly deer but they also sought beavers and muskrats in the winter. As they were located close to the river, they also had improved their ability to catch various types of fish.

The Pueblo Indian society was matrilineal in most cases, but differed in some, where in a few villages patrilineal clans existed, and males owned houses and land. Women did most of the farming, while men were in charge of the hunting. However, as hunting importance was reduced men also started to have a role in agriculture. Iroquois and Pueblo Indians’ role of women in their society, was similar in which they were both matrilineal, that they had the task to cultivate the land, and raise the children. However, in Iroquois society, women had more power, where they could choose to divorce their husband and order him to live the home with his belongings. Women also had the right to keep the children if a couple separated. The Iroquois established the Great Law of Deganawida, which gave equality to both sexes. In their society the women were the ones who elected the chief of their village and were also the ones who could remove him from his position.

The Iroquois had their main prophet, Deganawida, who they thought brought peace to the people. Their beliefs about creation were that in a supernatural way, spirits were integrated into the natural world. Their myth said that a girl in the spirit world who became pregnant without having intercourse had a vision that she had to uproot a tree so she would be able to see the underworld. As she does that, she falls to the natural world. As a result of their belief that the spiritual world was up in the heavens,

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