Who were the
Iroquois?
There is a huge geographic area in the
northeastern part of the United States that is known as the Woodlands.
The Woodlands include all five great lakes - Lake Ontario, Erie,
Huron, Michigan, and Superior - as well as the Finger Lakes and the
Saint Lawrence River.
No early people had it easy, but the Woodland
Region certainly offered many opportunities to find food and shelter.
There were wild fruits and vegetables. There was plenty of wood
available from birch, oak, elm, fir, and maple trees to use as
firewood and to make homes and tools.
As early people wandered into the Woodland
Region, many stayed. Thousands of years later, when European colonists
began moving into the same area, they called these early people the
Woodland Indians. By the time the European colonists arrived, there
were many different groups of people who made their home in the
Woodlands.
Today, the Iroquois people live like their
non-Indian neighbors, but they still enjoy many of their old
traditions. Click on the links below to explore the Iroquois Nation in
olden times.
