An Ancient Bond with the Land

People of the Longhouse

The Forest

Men spent much of their time away from their villages, hunting, fishing and travelling to trade, or engaging in warfare or diplomatic activities. They hunted with bows and arrows, traps and dead-falls. The animals they hunted provided meat, valuable skins for clothing and footwear, and bones for making tools and implements. People caught fish with hooks, spears, nets and traps. Along with corn, fish was a basic staple, and a crucial source of protein.

Men traded for goods or raw materials that were unavailable in their own homeland. They exchanged dried corn, clay pots, pipes and tobacco for copper, birch bark, marine shells and flint-like stones for tool making. Trade networks spanned the continent. Men also mediated relations with other nations as diplomats or warriors.

Iroquoians participated in trade networks that spanned the continent and included raw materials, finished articles and food items.