The Haudenosaunee Homeland: Seasons, Longhouses, and Deer
How the Haudenosaunee used the land through the year, how their villages and longhouses were built, and how they used deer. This excerpt uses three sections of the guide: “The Annual Cycle,” “Longhouses and Village Life,” and “The Importance of Deer.” It leaves out the maps, photos, and sidebars, and what happened after Europeans introduced new materials.
Full guide (PDF, with maps and photos): americanindian.si.edu
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The Annual Cycle
Before European contact, the Haudenosaunee depended entirely on the resources that nature provided. They used natural resources for everything they needed, from food to housing and clothing. Clothing, including moccasins, was made from animal hides, furs, and natural fibers. The most common skins were deer and elk for hides. The most common furs were rabbit, beaver, and bear. Cornhusks could also be woven into moccasins.
Each season brought a rush of activities. The Haudenosaunee shared responsibilities as a community. Tasks changed with the seasons, as different natural resources became available. Men hunted and fished throughout the year, as game and fish were available. The lakes and waterways around Haudenosaunee territory provided plenty of fish, including salmon, trout, bass, perch, eel, and whitefish. Deer was the most commonly eaten meat. But bear, rabbit, and other game were also trapped and hunted. Birds such as ducks, geese, wild turkeys, and quail were hunted for food.
Women gathered wild foods, including berries, nuts, tubers, mushrooms, and other edible plants. In the spring, fields were prepared for planting. Women were responsible for the gardens. Among other things, they planted three main crops: corn, beans, and squash. These crops were so important to the Haudenosaunee diet that they called them the Three Sisters. Eaten together, these three foods give many of the essential vitamins and minerals for a healthy body and a well-balanced diet. In the early spring, families tapped maple trees for syrup. This was also when bark was peeled from trees for longhouses, canoes, and bark containers.
In the summer, community members spent much time outdoors. Women tended the crops, prepared animal hides for clothing, and cured meat for the winter. Men hunted, fished, and built and repaired longhouses. Fall was the time to harvest and store crops for the winter. In winter, people spent most days indoors. Women made and repaired clothing. Men made and repaired their hunting gear and tools. The long, cold months gave people a chance to visit with one another and listen to stories.
Longhouses and Village Life
Extended families of the same clan lived together in houses called longhouses. Typically, sixty people lived in a longhouse. As the clan grew, the houses were made bigger for the families. On average, longhouses were about eighty to one hundred feet long and twenty feet wide. Roofs were either rounded or triangular. Men were responsible for building longhouses. The whole community took part in the building.
The longhouse frame was made from cedar or hickory poles. They may also have used elm. Bark lashing held the poles together where they crossed. Tree bark covered the frame to make the walls and roof. Bark lashing also tied the bark onto the frame. Smoke holes were placed at intervals in the roof, above the fireplaces. The holes could easily be closed in bad weather. Doors were at either end of the house. Inside, families had separate sleeping areas, divided by wood screens. They shared several cooking areas. Two platforms ran the length of both sides of the longhouse. A low platform was used for sleeping and sitting. Another platform, about seven feet high, was used for storage.
In the 1600s, a typical Haudenosaunee village had between two hundred and three thousand people. Villages were in clearings near forested areas and near waterways, where fresh water was easy to get. The forests gave the Haudenosaunee food and shelter. Villages were often surrounded by tall wooden fences, or palisades.
Haudenosaunee people spent most of their time outdoors, except in the cold winter months. Then the longhouse became the center of community life. In winter, people repaired clothing and tools and got ready for the busy spring. Winter was also a time to visit, renew friendships, and tell stories. Through stories, Native communities have passed along their oral traditions, including life lessons, histories, and languages.
Haudenosaunee communities moved every twenty to thirty years. Firewood ran out, and bark became scarce for repairing the longhouse roofs. Moving also let the soil recover from many years of planting crops.
The Importance of Deer
Haudenosaunee people have great respect for deer. Deer was especially important to the Haudenosaunee, and they used as much of the animal as possible. The meat was eaten. Hides were tanned and stretched and used for clothing, moccasins, and blankets. Sinew, made from the animal’s tendons, was used for thread. Bones and antlers were used to make tools such as awls (a pointed tool used for boring holes) and scrapers. Deer hooves were used to make rattles. Deer antlers were attached to the gustowehs of Haudenosaunee leaders.