Northeast Culture Area
The Northeast culture area Indians included the Iroquois (Haudenosaunee) Confederacy or Nations. The tribal territory extends from the Mississippi River to the Atlantic Coast, including the Great Lakes region. The tribes of this culture area speak the Macro-Algonquian Phylum and the Macro-Siouan Phylum dialects.
The Iroquois Nations
The Iroquois League is composed of "Six Nations: Cayuga, Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Seneca, and Tuscarora. When speaking of themselves collectively,the Iroquois call themselves Haudenosaunee, after translation, mean people of the longhouse" (Waldman, 1999:103).
The founders or organizers of the Iroquois Nations were Deganawida, known as both the Peacemaker and a prophet of the Huron Tribe, and Hiawatha, a Mohawk medicine man, "who paddled through the Haudenosaunee territory preaching the message of unity and carrying his wampum belt that symbolized the Great Law of Peace" (Waldman, 1999:104).
The tribes that will be studied are Haudenosaunee and Illinois .
The Haudenosaunee Tribe
"Archaeologist theories revealed that the homeland sites for the Haudenosaunee Tribe are located in the upper New York and the Lake Ontario region of Canada from the St. Lawrence to the north; or from the west of the Mississippi River; or from the south" (Waldman, 1999:104). The Haudenosaunee built their villages in forest areas near bodies of water, such as, the banks of lakes or rivers. Their villages were "surrounded by walls made from sharpened poles stuck upright in the ground" (Waldman, 1999:104). Their houses were constructed from elm bark. Each of the houses was home for more than one family. The houses were referred to as longhouses which symbolized the confederacy.
The Illinois Tribe
The Illinois tribe is apart of the Northeast Culture area and speak a dialect that belong to the Algonquian language family known as the Macro-Algonquian Phylum language. Their tribal territory extended from the Mississippi River banks to the Atlantic Ocean coastlands. The boundaries of the Illinois began at "the western areas of the above region to the southern areas of the Great Lakes and to the east of the Mississippi River" (Waldman, 1999:96). The Illinois Confederacy included bands of the following tribes: Cahokia, Kaskaskia, Metchigamea (Michigamea), Moingwena, Peoria, and Tamaroa. Their villages were always located in the woodlands near bodies of water. This tribe was important to the French settlers because " they had control of apart of the Mississippi River and the trading lane to Louisiana" (Waldman, 1999:97).
During the 1700s, "the Illinois were defeated by an alliance of other tribes. They were enemies of the Great Lakes Algonquians as well as the Sioux, which included, the Dakota, Lakota, and Nakota" (Waldman, 1999:97). The Illinois tribe was an ally of the French. In addition, they fought with the French against the British in the French and Indian wars from 1689 to 1763.
During 1769, a member of this tribe killed Pontiac, the Ottawa chief. In addition to the murder of Pontiac, many of the Native American tribes resented the Illinois tribe because they supported the Americans in the American Revolution. As a result, many of the Indian tribes united to defeat them. These tribes included the Potawaromi, Sac, Mesquaki, Kickapoo, Ottawa, and the Chippewa (Ojibway). When this conflict ended, there was only one hundred and fifty (150) members of this tribe left. These tribesmen united with
" the French settlers at Kaskaskia, where the Kaskaskia River meets the Mississippi River in Illinois" (Waldman, 1999: 97).
Tribal Musical Traditions
The musical traditions for the Iroquois Nation are performed for religious rituals, medicine rites, and social dances. The performance sequence is depended upon the occasion. The songs always accompany dances and the improvised patterns are determined by choreographies. The tribal song-dance style descriptions are common among all the bands.
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