Iroquois Confederacy

Introduction

Iroquois Confederacy or Iroquois League ĭrˈəkwoiˌ, –kwäˌ [key], North American confederation of indigenous peoples, initially comprising the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca; the native name for the confederated peoples is the Haudenosaunee. The Iroquoian branch of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock (see Native American languages) included numerous other Native American groups of the E United States and E Canada. In the early 17th cent. this confederacy of Five Nations (later to become six when the Tuscarora, who also speak an Iroquoian language, joined) inhabited New York state from the Hudson River N to the St. Lawrence River and W to the Genesee River.

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