Iroquois

The Iroquois, also known as the Rotinonhsión:niAssassin's Creed: Valhalla – Database: Rotinonhsión:ni or Haudenosaunee ("People of the Longhouse"), are the peoples indigenous to the northeastern United States and Canada.Assassin's Creed III – Database: Haudenosaunee They are synonymous with the Iroquois League, or the "League of Peace and Power", which consisted of six nations by the time of the American Revolutionary War.Assassin's Creed III – Database: Iroquois
==Members==
===Council members===
*Kanien'kehá:ka: The "People of the Flint", and the eastern-most nation. The Kanien'kehá:ka sided with the British Army during the Revolutionary War, though at least one village remained neutral.Assassin's Creed III – Database: Kanien'kehá:ka
*: The "People of the Hills", they were at the center of the League. The Onondaga favored no sides during the Revolutionary War, until General John Sullivan attacked them in 1779.Assassin's Creed III – Database: Onondaga Nation
*: The "People of the Big Hill", the Seneca were located on the western side of the League and sided with the British.Assassin's Creed III – Database: Seneca Nation
*: "The People of the Swamp", the Cayuga and the Oneida are considered the Younger Brothers in the Haudenosaunee Grand Council.Assassin's Creed III – Database: Cayuga Nation
*Oneida: Known as the "People of the Standing Stone", the Oneida sided with the Continental Army.Assassin's Creed III – Database: Oneida Nation
*: The "Hemp Gatherers" who migrated from North Carolina and joined the League in 1722. They also sided with the Continental Army.Assassin's Creed III – Database: Tuscarora Nation
Other Iroquoian-speaking peoples who were not part of the League included the , the , and the .
==Culture==
Iroquois surnames are matrilineal, where clan names are passed from mother to child. Iroquois clan names include Turtle, Wolf, Beaver, Hawk, Eel, Deer, and Bear. Clan Mothers, or Iakotiiá:ner–like Oiá:ner–lead the clans, while selecting a male Chief (Roiá:ner) to represent them in the 50-strong Haudenosaunee Grand Council.Assassin's Creed III – Database: Haudenosaunee Clan System
To deliberate decisions, the first party, made up of Seneca and Kanien'kehá:ka Chiefs, present an issue to the second party (consisting of Oneida, Cayuga and Tuscarora Chiefs), who reach a resolution for the first party to consider. On reaching a consensus, the Onondaga Chiefs will either approve the decision or offer a counter-proposal.Assassin's Creed III – Database: Haudenosaunee Grand Council of Chiefs
Iroquois families from a single clan lived together in longhouses, with opposite families sharing a .Assassin's Creed III – Database: Longhouses Canoes were stored in the rafters of the longhouses.Assassin's Creed III
Their economic system was based around cultivating the "Three Sisters" of corn, beans and squash, and were supplemented by hunting and fishing.Assassin's Creed III – Database: Haudenosaunee Economy Beads made from shells known as were popular symbolic decorations.Assassin's Creed III – Database: Wampum When going to war, the Iroquois used tomahawks, clubs and bows.Assassin's Creed III – The Braddock Expedition
==History==
In the late 9th century, the Viking shieldmaiden Eivor Varinsdottir of the Raven Clan sailed to Vinland in pursuit of Gorm Kjotvesson, her sworn enemy and also a Maegester of the Wardens of War sect of the Order of the Ancients. On arriving in Vinland, she met the Iroquois people living in Karonhiakèn:iate' and explored the surrounding areas of Kahrhakén:rat, Okonhsà:ke, and Tionontaté:ken.Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – In a Strange Land
Around 1000 CE, the original five nations were at war until the man known as the called for an end to the conflict. In place of violence, he conceived a path of unity and strength for the Iroquois known as Kaianere'kó:wa–the , providing the foundations of a stable, if complex democracy.Assassin's Creed III – Database: Kaianere'kó:wa – Great Law of Peace He encouraged the peoples to see themselves as members of a single longhouse, with the Kanien'kehá:ka as Keepers of the Eastern Door, the Seneca as Keepers of the Western Door, and the Onondaga as the Firekeepers.
The Iroquois sided with the British during the French and Indian War.Assassin's Creed III – Broken Trust After their victory in 1763, King George III rewarded them by establishing a boundary line against colonists who would settle on their land. But five years later, disputes continued and the Iroquois met with Sir William Johnson to establish a new boundary line. The controversial left the British with even more land than before,Assassin's Creed III – Database: Treaty of Fort Stanwix even causing the to ask Johnson to reconsider, but he refused.
The Kanien'kehá:ka village of Kanatahséton remained neutral due to their duties of protecting a sacred site of theirs,Assassin's Creed III – Something to Remember but having been attacked by the British,Assassin's Creed III – Hide and Seek Ratonhnhaké:ton was sent to join the Colonial Assassins to protect them. When Johnson, a Templar, attempted to buy his village's land, Connor assassinated him, but this ironically deprived the natives of someone who would protect their interests during the American Revolutionary War.Assassin's Creed III – Hostile Negotiations
The Iroquois primarily sided with the British, while Ratonhnhaké:ton sided with the Patriots, hoping the Loyalists would come to realize they were victims. Kanatahséton remained neutral until Kanen'tó:kon grew restless and was convinced by Charles Lee that his friend had turned on them, and so he and his fellow warriors dragged the village into the war.
In 1779, George Washington ordered John Sullivan to lead a counterattack on Iroquois forces led by , who had massacred civilians as well as soldiers. The Sullivan Expedition responded by burning 40 villages and salting their land, earning Washington the title of Ranatakáriias, or "Town Destroyer". The Expedition failed to stop Iroquois raids, which continued throughout the war.
==Behind the scenes==
In the database entry for Albany in Assassin's Creed: Rogue, the Iroquois are erroneously referred to as an , though whether this was a developer oversight or was intentional as an in-universe mistake by Abstergo Entertainment is unclear.
==Appearances==
*Assassin's Creed III 
**The Tyranny of King Washington
*Assassin's Creed: Memories 
*Assassin's Creed: Valhalla
==Gallery==
ACV - Iroquois men concept.jpg|Concept art of Iroquois men
ACV - Iroquois women concept.jpg|Concept art of Iroquois women
==Reference==
Category:Indigenous peoples of the Americas