Iroquois, Mingo, and Wyandot

Chapter 1, Section 4

Historic Indians

• By 1650 Historic Indian groups came to Ohio– Lived after written history

• Did not have their own written languages, however Europeans who met them did.

• Written records from Europeans tell us a great deal about these Native Americans.

Native American Legends

• Stories, songs, and legends can also tell us much about early Native Americans

• Legends stories passed down over time– Used to explain how everything in the

world came to be– Used to tell a tribe’s history

Native American Legends

• Tribe a group that shares the same language and has the same leaders

• Legends often told how tribes first came to be

• Legends provide clues about how the people saw their world– Tell much about a tribe’s history and

culture

Cultures and Conflict

• Tribes used natural resources to survive, and to make goods for trade

• Traded with each other for the resources they didn’t have

• Sometimes fought each other for control of land and resources

Cultures and Conflict

• By early 1600s, Europeans began to settle in parts of North America

• Settlements grew and spread into Native American territory --- conflict

Cultures and Conflict

• Europeans and Native Americans traded.– Native Americans traded animal skins and

furs for European goods such as cloth, glass, and metal tools and weapons.

• As fur trade increased, so did the demand for furs.– Led to conflicts between Native Americans

over hunting lands

The Iroquois

• 1650 came to Ohio from the Northeast

• powerful – fought and drove out other tribes who lived around Lake Erie and along Ohio’s rivers

The Iroquois

• Mostly wanted to hunt and trap animals in Ohio – did NOT want to settle there

• Fished, hunted deer, beavers, foxes, and mink– Became a major source of furs for

European traders

• Gathered nuts and fruits, grew corn, beans, and squash

The Iroquois

• Lived in villages and built large wooden homes called longhouses–Wooden poles = frame; sheets of bark =

cover– Small fires kept burning inside

• Several families lived in one longhouse clan– Clans were led by women and often

named after animals– Put their crest at their longhouse entrance

The Iroquois

• Each family slept on a platform–Weapons, tools, and baskets stored

underneath– Pots, food, skins stored on shelves

above the platform

The Mingo

• Related to the Iroquois; spoke an Iroquois language and had similar customs; also known as the Seneca

• mid-1770s moved to Ohio from the east

• Lived along the riverbanks of the Scioto and Sandusky Rivers in longhouses.

• Communities develops near present-day Columbus

The Mingo

• The tribe was formed by members of the Iroquois and other tribes.– Some were hunters who had left the

Iroquois– Others were members of tribes who had

been defeated by the Iroquois

The Mingo

• At first, lived peacefully with the Iroquois– Treated as equals by the Iroquois

• Members of the Mingo tribe were not allowed to serve as Iroquois leaders– Began to act more like their own tribe

over time• 1750 conflicts with the Iroquois and

European settlers pushed the Mingo tribe into eastern Ohio

The Wyandot

• 1650 Iroquois attacked tribes near Ontario to gain hunting land–Wyandot formed from tribes fleeing the

Iroquois

• mid-1700s moved into northern Ohio from Canada– Settled mainly in villages along the

Sandusky River and the Huron River

The Wyandot

• Their language is related to the Iroquois language

• Lived in longhouses• Women leaders chose the Wyandot

chiefs• Fierce warriors• Strongly resisted European

settlements near where they lived