Culture, History, and Origins

Culture, History, and Origins of the Iroquois
The Importance of White Corn Within Iroquois Oral Tradition

Word Origins

Haudenoshaunee is the name accepted to refer to the people of the Long House.

Iroquois is believed to be a French word that colonials gave to the Haudenoshaunee people, meaning snake people, or snake eaters.(1)

Iroquois Creation Story

For the Iroquois the Earth exists in a medium somewhere between a world above and a world below. In the sky world lived a man named "The Sky Holder," who was responsible for the Great Tree of Light, and was married to "The Sky Woman." Some stories say that Sky woman wanted to uproot the tree, while others say that it was The Sky Holder who asked her to do this, but the story goes that Sky Woman had uprooted the Great Tree of Light, and fell into the hole the uprooted tree created, falling into a "dark world below which was the Earth." The Earth was at this time covered with water, but it did have plant and animal life, and the animals of the Earth decided to save Sky Woman from the falling, placing her on the back of a large snapping turtle, which would become Turtle Island as the animals brought mud to the turtle's back and Sky Woman treaded the mud, making it into an island. While she walked seeds fell from her clothing, and the Earth became fresh with life.

Sky woman gave birth to a daughter, who had many suitors "from the male beings who could transform themselves into human form." Sky Woman's daughter chose a "turtle-being" and together they would have twins. Sky Woman's daughter, who would be known as Mother Earth, died during the birth of the second twin, who was born from her armpit. Sky Woman buried the body of her daughter, Mother Earth, and from her came the Three Sisters, corn, beans, and squash, which would sustain the Iroquois people throughout time.(2)

A Little Bit of History

During our interview with Kevin White we learned that the Iroquois people did not attack the corn, beans, and squash fields that were the sustenance of the tribe. This practice was actually introduced by colonials, as they knew that ridding the Iroquois of their food source would surely cripple the people. Iroquois, in the practice of war, however, did not attack other tribe's or clan's crops.

Ethnobotanical and Cultural Information

For the Iroquois corn traces its roots back to Creation, a gift given by the Creator to sustain human beings. There is a certain spirituality and mystery associated with the planting of corn by the Iroquois people. Traditionally women grew the corn, although today this is not the case, and instead a new trend of men planting the corn is in effect. Today white corn has mostly been replaced by genetically engineered sweet corn, but the Corn Project of Gonadagon is trying to bring back the practice of white corn planting.

References: Articles, Books, Reference Materials, and the Web

Gangnier, Gary. Skywoman: The Creation Story (The Beginning). http://www.cqsb.qc.ca/svs/434/fnsky.htm

Iroquois.net. Iroquois Creation Story.

http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~runnion/314/fall00/legends/Intro/Iroquois/creation/creation.htm (2)

Queens University at Kingston. Word Origins and Pronunciations. (1) http://collections.ic.gc.ca/curriculum/iroquois/origin.htm