Seneca Indian Paper
a IbTaylor Fruth
Rechs
History 8; 6
April 6, 2011
a) Seneca, or Onandowaga, “People of the Great Hill", as they referred to themselves as, traditionally occupied what is now present day New York, between the Genesee River and Canandaigua Lake. They were vigorous in power over their league, plentiful in numbers, and one of the primary members of the confederation of Iroquois tribes, formed in 1570, consisting of the other member nations: the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, and Tuscaroras. The heartlands of the league’s confederation expanded from the Hudson River to the shores of Lake Erie. The Seneca Indians were the west most nation within the Iroquois League, in relation to all the other members of confederacy. They settled and lived the farthest west, at one time, claiming all of the lands in Western New York, spanning from the Genesee to Niagara Rivers, and a portion of the state of North Western Pennsylvania. However, some were later forced to migrate elsewhere. Since prehistoric times, they were there, before the formation of the Iroquois League, just growing rapidly in their numbers and power, being true conquers when it came to war tactics, and possessing their vast lands immensely rich in resources like it was in their culture.
Having the widespread land, The Seneca Indians were clearly farming people with the major occupation of agriculture to prove it. Their nation’s economy was based mainly on the cultivation of corn, both the green and mature variety, beans, and squash – the fundamental food commonly known as the three sisters. These three heavily relied on plants were believed to be precious gifts from the Great Spirit, Deohako, which could only grow and thrive together while in the same mounds. Additionally, Seneca women grew supplementary crops of pumpkins, beans, and tobacco and later that of orchard fruits. The women would harvest and gather wild berries and medical herbs, roots, and nuts. The Seneca men did their part, hunting
Rechs
History 8; 6
April 6, 2011
a) Seneca, or Onandowaga, “People of the Great Hill", as they referred to themselves as, traditionally occupied what is now present day New York, between the Genesee River and Canandaigua Lake. They were vigorous in power over their league, plentiful in numbers, and one of the primary members of the confederation of Iroquois tribes, formed in 1570, consisting of the other member nations: the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, and Tuscaroras. The heartlands of the league’s confederation expanded from the Hudson River to the shores of Lake Erie. The Seneca Indians were the west most nation within the Iroquois League, in relation to all the other members of confederacy. They settled and lived the farthest west, at one time, claiming all of the lands in Western New York, spanning from the Genesee to Niagara Rivers, and a portion of the state of North Western Pennsylvania. However, some were later forced to migrate elsewhere. Since prehistoric times, they were there, before the formation of the Iroquois League, just growing rapidly in their numbers and power, being true conquers when it came to war tactics, and possessing their vast lands immensely rich in resources like it was in their culture.
Having the widespread land, The Seneca Indians were clearly farming people with the major occupation of agriculture to prove it. Their nation’s economy was based mainly on the cultivation of corn, both the green and mature variety, beans, and squash – the fundamental food commonly known as the three sisters. These three heavily relied on plants were believed to be precious gifts from the Great Spirit, Deohako, which could only grow and thrive together while in the same mounds. Additionally, Seneca women grew supplementary crops of pumpkins, beans, and tobacco and later that of orchard fruits. The women would harvest and gather wild berries and medical herbs, roots, and nuts. The Seneca men did their part, hunting